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

  Callen moved closer to Elizabeth at his brother’s words. There was no way he was allowing their woman to wander around a cemetery with some sicko running loose. They’d dealt with plenty of crazy before, and this one wasn’t getting to her.

  “Agents, you get that section over there, and we’ll take the plethora of religious icons over there. If you find anything, whistle,” she stated, looking up. “Let’s get moving. The rain’s coming,” Elizabeth warned.

  They divided up and headed out. Walking the stone paths, Ethan scanned the area, Elizabeth stared at the statuary, and Callen watched their backs. They moved from row to row, examining mausoleums, crypts, and burial sites.

  “This is damn creepy,” she stated, as the statues seemed to be watching them, no matter where they went. “This is why I wanted to be cremated.”

  “Come on,” muttered Callen. “Are we really going to go there again?” he asked, his hand on the butt of his sidearm.

  “What?”

  He muttered something under his breath.

  Both of them stopped. It wasn’t like Callen to be cranky or hostile toward Elizabeth.

  “What’s going on, Cal?” she asked, touching his arm. “You were fine earlier.”

  Callen stared at her, trying to will away the hurt. No, he wasn’t fine. In fact, he was dying inside.

  “We don’t keep secrets,” Ethan stated, still watching the area.

  “I’m hurt over you calling him your husband and me his brother. It made me feel like I’m just the third wheel.”

  There.

  He’d said it.

  It caught her off guard. In all honesty, she didn't think it would bother him. After all, he was the one who was always more willing to keep it a secret.

  “Cal, I didn't mean to hurt you. We had a bet going. I figured you’d understand. If I said anything in church about a threesome, that would freak them all out, maybe silence them, plus burn the joint down around us.”

  “It’s fine. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

  He tried to walk away, and she stopped him. “No, it’s not fine. If I hurt you then that’s on me and I owe you an apology. I didn't mean to make you upset. You know I love you just as much as Ethan. I’d never choose one of you over the other. You both matter to me.”

  Ethan could understand why Callen was wounded over this because if it was him, he would be too. There was a way to make it better, so Ethan went with it. “It’s probably good you didn't mention it,” he stated.

  Callen glanced over, more hurt at his brother’s words. “Why’s that, Ethan?”

  “Because we have a killer who is stalking and killing people because of perceived sins. If someone was watching us in church or overheard us, the lack of monogamy on her behalf would be seen as cheating and being a whore.”

  “Hey!” she objected.

  “I’m just pointing out the facts. The less people who know about us being a couple, the better in this instance. That is unless you want to be a mummy.”

  Callen was horrified. Gone was his hurt, and in its place was gratitude that she hadn’t said anything. In this case, he’d take his chances.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered, pulling her into his arms to hug her. “I didn't think about that. I let my emotions get in the way on this one.”

  She hugged him back. “It’s okay, Cal. I’m still sorry that I hurt you, but we need to look around and get in before the storm starts. We can talk about this later,” she offered, setting him free.

  He didn't say anything else, but this time his hurt was replaced with sheer terror. If anything happened to her, he’d never get over it.

  They heard a whistle off in the distance, and then a text arrived. Their agents had found something. Racing toward their location, they arrived beside a cluster of statuary.

  “What did you find?” asked Ethan.

  Agent Seaton led them over to a patch of grass. In it, there was a brown substance. “It looks like blood to me,” he stated, looking around. “Plus, there’s a crypt and guarding it are two angels with swords,” he added.

  “That screams wacko hangout to me,” stated Elizabeth.

  Ethan had to agree. “If the killer is doing ‘God’s work’, this location would be perfect.”

  Just then, the wind picked up.

  “Do you smell that?” Johanna asked, looking around. That was one distinctive smell that they’d never forget. It was Christmas in a cemetery.

  “Frankincense,” answered Elizabeth, unsnapping her holster.

  “What techs are in the woods?” Ethan asked, motioning toward the Rez.

  “Meredith is there with a few others. Do you want me to get them?” asked Agent Seaton.

  “Yeah, you better,” Ethan stated. “We need this tested. If it is blood, it might give us a clue as to what the hell is going on in Devil’s Lake,” he stated.

  Heading toward the crypt, Elizabeth prepared to enter. At the iron door, she could pick up the scent of frankincense even more, but there was something else there. It was masked behind the fragrance. Before she could place her hand on the wrought iron gate, Ethan placed his body in front of her.

  “You’re pregnant. Get behind me,” he ordered, not waiting for her to respond. There was no way he was letting his woman go in first. She was carrying precious cargo and not wearing Kevlar.

  Callen used the nose of his gun to nudge the door open. Glancing at his brother, he let him count it down. They were going to go in, and make sure Elizabeth stayed out of danger.

  She was ready to chew nails. They were pushing her out of the way like she was some helpless woman. Oh, someone was going to be killed alright, but it wasn’t going to be her.

  Taking a deep breath, she found her calm once more. Going in behind them, she watched their flank.

  As they entered the marble structure, they stopped dead in their tracks. Using the lights on their phones, they scanned the darkened crypt.

  “Don’t touch anything and back out,” stated Ethan.

  Elizabeth looked around his shoulder at what made him stop. There, on top of a marble slab was a body. It was wrapped in the same strips, and had a smaller corpse beside it.

  “I hope that’s not a child,” Callen said, getting sick to his stomach.

  Yeah, this was insane.

  Outside, Ethan still didn't holster his weapon. He turned in circles, scanning the area.

  “It looks like we have another pair of victims,” Callen said, warning the two agents. “This guy is bat shit insane,” he stated.

  They couldn’t disagree with that at all.

  “He’s twenty pounds of crazy in a five pound bag,” Elizabeth added. “God sent us a wackjob.”

  As if answering her comment, the heavens opened up.

  “Holy.Bloody.Fucking.Hell,” Elizabeth muttered, punctuating every word with anger. “I need your suit jacket,” she stated, holding out her hand.

  Ethan pulled it off and handed it over.

  Cautiously, Elizabeth rested it over their blood sample in the grass, hoping to preserve some of the evidence.

  “Someone is not on our side,” stated Callen.

  She wasn’t surprised.

  It appeared that today was going to be a long miserable day.

  The killer had played this one well.

  * * *

  They guarded the scene, helping Meredith get the blood samples before the grass was soaked with water. Everyone was drenched in the downpour and miserable as sin.

  Then the three doctors arrived, getting ready to work on the bodies.

  “What do we have?” asked Zane, suiting up.

  Elizabeth wiped some rain from her face as she led him to the crypt. “We have two mummies. There’s one large one, which is obviously a human, and then a much smaller one. I know it’s not procedure to open them here, but can you tell me if it’s a child or not?”

  He knew his boss was expecting, and while he wasn’t keen on opening the wraps, he could give her some reassurance.

&n
bsp; “I can probably tell just by holding and feeling the form,” he stated.

  “I would appreciate that, Doctor.”

  Together they headed in with Doctors Magnus and Armstrong right behind them.

  “I can’t wait to see this!” Jaxon stated, giddy with the entire thing. The anthropological reasoning behind leaving two bodies in a crypt fascinated her.

  Tony shook his head, trying to get her to take it down a notch. While he too was fascinated, he knew that a pregnant woman didn't want over exuberance about a possibly dead child. In fact, none of them did.

  Inside, Zane let a tech finish with the pictures before he cradled the body in his hands. It was wrapped exactly the same way as the others.

  “Look at the knotting. This is the work of the same killer,” he stated. Then, he used his fingers to probe the small wrapped form. While it was swathed much like the bigger body, it definitely felt off. Already, he had his suspicions but needed a second opinion. “Tony, can you feel this and tell me what you think?” he asked, passing it off to his field partner.

  Elizabeth rested her hand on her belly, trying not to be sick at the prospect. All the horrible things going through her head were making her nauseous. Since they dealt with some pretty vile things in life, she couldn’t help but let her mind go there. She was picturing a dead woman, who had her child cut out of her.

  If that were the case, the men in her life were going to go bat shit insane. The parallels they would draw would push them over the edge. The killer wouldn’t be the only insane one roaming the cemetery.

  “Doctor Armstrong?” Tony said, handing it off. Since he was supposed to be training her, he wanted Jaxon to be part of this. That and he was curious to see if she would figure out what they already had.

  “It’s not human,” she said. “It feels like a dog or cat.” The tone in her voice said it all.

  “You’re disappointed?” asked Elizabeth, horrified.

  She looked over at her. “No! I didn't mean…”

  Elizabeth stopped her. “I’m going to leave you three to have at it. It took twelve years, but it’s official; I just may puke on a scene.” With that, she walked away. Was she taking her emotional issues out on the woman? Yes, but in that moment, she was worried. Callen was hurt, Ethan was going to be overprotective, and Elizabeth was feeling very off balance.

  As she escaped the crypt, Jaxon glanced over at Tony. “I didn't mean anything. I really didn't want it to be a child,” she offered.

  He reassuringly patted her on the shoulder. “Elizabeth is pregnant. The idea that this could be a baby had to hit a little close to home. I didn't think you meant anything by it. How about you Zane?”

  The man shook his head. “You’re new at this, Doctor Armstrong. We’ve all been there once before. Maybe just dial back the enthusiasm a little,” he offered. “If you do that, you’ll be fine with the boss lady.”

  She understood what they were saying. It was just that a mummy in a crypt was like an anthropologists dream come true. Jaxon could see how it wouldn’t be for people who dealt with vile killers every day.

  “I see your point. I can do that.”

  Tony grinned at her. “You’ll get the hang of this,” he promised.

  Somehow, she didn't buy that, but Jaxon appreciated the men trying to help her through it.

  “Let’s get this taken care of,” stated Doctor Legend. “The team needs to check every inch of this place.”

  Tony held a high powered flashlight for his co-worker. “Yeah, I have to admit that this place even creeps me out a little.”

  Jaxon glanced around. “There’s room for a few bodies in here.”

  Neither man said anything, since they were thinking that themselves. This was likely the killer’s new hiding spot.

  And they had ruined his fun again.

  Oh, the shit was going to be hitting the fan.

  Outside, Elizabeth tried to calm herself. Her heart was pounding, and she had this irrational need to cry. It looked like the baby hormones were on a rollercoaster ride.

  “We have a problem,” stated Ethan, crossing to her. He could see the emotion on her face. “Are you okay?” he asked.

  “Yeah, I’m just dandy. What’s the issue?”

  It looked like they had more than one problem, since he distinctly could tell his wife had just lied to him. Before he could comment, Callen approached.

  “We’ve gotten attention,” he said, pointing toward the church and the gate. Already, spectators had begun to gather. There was a line of black umbrellas with intrigued faces peeking out from beneath them.

  “Awesome. The morbidly curious have now just figured out we’re going to be pulling a body from a crypt. In a small town, this should be in the paper by morning,” she offered.

  They didn't need that. In order to keep the citizens of Devil’s Lake calm, they needed to do their job quietly.

  As if on cue, there were individuals trying to get through the gate with cameras.

  “Media,” she stated, pointing. “You’re up, Cowboy.”

  He knew this was his thing. Now, he only wished he wasn’t drenched while doing it. His only saving grace was that his shirt was black and the water wouldn’t make his tattoos visible beneath.

  Elizabeth knew he liked to hit the media looking presentable. Whistling, she grabbed the tech team’s attention. “You in the FBI jacket, let the director borrow it. He has to wrangle some news people.”

  The man pulled it off and handed it to Ethan.

  Willingly, he accepted it with gratitude. While it was still wet, it at least made him feel a little more ‘protected’. It was hard to feel in control when you were dripping water and a hot mess.

  When Ethan was gone, Callen faced her. “Is it a baby?” he whispered.

  “Not likely. All three doctors agree that it’s probably a pet. We’re hoping it’s a cat or dog.”

  He relaxed a little. “That’s very Egyptian. Didn't they bury their pets with them?”

  “Yeah, I think so.”

  Tony stuck his head out of the tomb. “Boss, is it okay to move the victims?” he asked, making sure the coast was clear. Fortunately, before they locked down the cemetery gates, one of the techs showed up with a transport vehicle.

  “Yeah, you’re good, Tony. Get our victims back to the morgue and have Doctor Legend get it done,” she directed.

  Callen spotted the sheriff, his deputy, and Father Dowell heading toward them. “Heads up, we have company,” he stated, loud enough for Elizabeth’s ears only.

  When she turned, the man didn't look too happy.

  “Well, sweetheart, what the hell is going on?” Sheriff Silversmith stated. “We generally like to leave the bodies in the cemetery once they’re placed here.”

  She ignored his disrespectful nickname, just because this wasn’t the time or place. “Yeah, we do too, Sheriff, but unfortunately, this one was left by our killer.”

  The priest crossed himself.

  All three men watched as the black body bag was carried from the tomb to a waiting vehicle.

  “Where’s the coffin?” asked the deputy.

  “There wasn’t one,” stated Elizabeth. “That’s how we knew our killer had left us another victim.” She didn't release any more details than that. From this point out, she trusted no one.

  Not even a priest.

  “What can we do to help?” the sheriff asked.

  Elizabeth was a little surprised that he wasn’t going to push the issue and try to get control. After all, this body had turned up in his jurisdiction. She’d been a sheriff, and if that had happened to her in Salem, Elizabeth definitely would have been fighting tooth and nail to run it.

  Then again, that was just her.

  “We need to close off this cemetery. No one gets in or out until we have time to search it.”

  “I can help,” stated Deputy Turner. “I can get a few of the guys from the station, and we can check all the mausoleums for any more surprises.”

 
Elizabeth weighed her options. Already, her team was stretched a little thin. “You know what? I’ll accept your help,” she stated. “Can you get your men to put on gloves and head to that area over there?” she asked, pointing where she, Ethan, and Callen had been. “The team is going to have to sweep for trace over here, and that way we can cover twice the ground.”

  The man looked excited to be helping out. “Yes, ma’am!” Immediately, he scurried off.

  The sheriff smiled at her. “I knew you were sweet as pie. That was really nice of you to not be a hard ass about us helping.”

  “Yeah, I get that a lot,” she stated.

  Callen started laughing. He couldn’t help it. This was all too weird. Elizabeth was being called sweet, she’d played good Catholic girl, and now she was playing nice with the locals. It was like the end of the world. Soon the water would be turning to blood as the locusts fell from the heavens.

  “We didn't get any missing person reports for anyone,” the older man stated. “How is it possible that no one’s missing this victim?”

  “In my past experience, the killer may have a jump on this one. If this was a new murder, the victim might not be missing yet. I’d keep an eye out for one, because more likely than not, one will be coming in.”

  “I hope so,” stated the sheriff. “It’ll make it easy for your team.”

  She held back as much as she could. “If he follows his pattern, we’ll have the victim’s name as soon as we start the exam.” Elizabeth didn't elaborate more, and oddly, no one pushed for an explanation.

  The sheriff did look disgusted. “It looks like evil is working here in Devil’s Lake.”

  Yeah, she was well aware.

  “Sheriff, can you get your men situated? If they find anything, I need them to not touch it, but instead come find one of my team.”

  “Sure thing, sweetness.” He tipped his hat and headed off after Deputy Turner.

  Callen swallowed a comment.

  “Father Dowell, you need to go back into your parish and get the people who work there to calm down. We’re handling this, and I can promise you that it’s in good hands. My people can work a scene with their eyes closed.”