All the King's Henchmen Page 24

  Oh, how could she say no to that?

  It wasn’t possible.

  Elizabeth kissed him on the mouth.

  “Jesus! I have no idea where your mouth has been! I may need a shot,” he teased when she finished.

  Callen laughed and pointed down at his dick. Oh, he knew where it had been.

  That horrified Ivan and amused the rest of them.

  “Oh, Christ. I need a whole bunch of shots if that is the case—and mouthwash.”

  Elizabeth laughed and took his hand.

  “Crash here, Ivan. We have a long day tomorrow. I’m sure you have a go bag in your truck.”

  “I do, ma’am,” he said, saluting her once more.

  “Yank the stick out of your ass. I hate being called ma’am,” she stated.

  He dropped his hat onto the top of her head.

  “I know. That’s why I do it.”

  The world was off of her shoulders.

  Now she could focus on a case.

  It was going to be the one that would make-or-break her career.

  Elizabeth Blackhawk had to find the killer of a man she thought wasn’t worth the air around them.

  She had to get the dick justice.

  Yeah, how could this go wrong?

  Chapter Six

  Tuesday Morning

  I t was bright. It was early, and it was exactly how she liked to start her new cases. Elizabeth Blackhawk was ready to take on the world the second she’d rolled out of bed. A little sleep, some good coffee, and a team—ready to do their thing—was always a good way to start a case.

  They were about to get down and dirty with a dead president, and tangle with his killer.

  There was no doubt that the shit was going to hit the fan at some point, but while she was out of the limelight, for now, she’d get as much done as possible.

  Elizabeth was no fool. She knew that once this leaked, and it likely would, it was going to be one hell of a shitstorm. Keeping this under wraps was going to be her biggest obstacle. If they were going to do the job, they’d have to navigate the media, the fact that the body had been moved, and that all of the evidence was compromised. When it came to a case being difficult, this one was likely going to take the cake.

  Still…

  She wanted it.

  Elizabeth was only as good as her last case, and she knew that cracking this one would put her on the map. It wasn’t about fame, or notoriety. It was about proving that having breasts and a vagina didn’t make you less of an investigator.

  It made her even better—simply because she had to work that much harder at it.

  Plus, she wasn’t alone.

  Behind every good investigator was an even better team. Solving this would get Damian Dean justice, and it would get her people the kudos that they deserved.

  This would be for all of them.

  As they stood in Autopsy One over the used body bag, it was time to get themselves into gear and find a killer.

  “Why are we here at six thirty in the morning?” Alex asked, leaning against one of the metal tables. “This could have waited until at least eight. I didn’t even get to eat breakfast. All I got was the text that we had a case.”

  Noah rolled his eyes.

  “You said you go to the gym every morning.”

  “I do. My coffee pot is on the other side. I go THROUGH the gym around seven thirty, and then get into my car to come here. She runs us through the ringer. That’s plenty of exercise for anyone.”

  Elizabeth shook her head.

  Alex was always going to be Alex. She had to take him with a grain of salt. He came across lazy, but it was an act. It was his good ol’ boy schtick that no one bought.

  If he wasn’t good, she wouldn’t have put him on her team. Working with her in the beginning of her career told her that. Plus, the man had worked in Cyber Crimes. He knew his way around technology.

  She could use that.

  “Well, this is an important case,” she stated, still not going into details. They were waiting on everyone to show.

  As if timed right, they all looked over when Autopsy One’s door unlocked and opened. Max came in with coffees for everyone.

  “Sorry I’m late,” he said, passing them out as he, Noah, Alex, and the rest of the team stood over the bag. Even the new ME was there.

  “That’s okay, Max. We’re just about ready to start. Since you brought coffee, I’ll forgive you.”

  She pointed at the bag, and then her team. Hopefully, they were ready for what was to come.

  “First off, this is a classified job. For the record, there will be NO record.”

  Alex laughed sardonically.

  “Who did the president kill now, and how long are we covering it up?” he joked.

  Elizabeth didn’t laugh.

  That told them everything they needed to know about the case. While she took work very seriously, she still found amusement in things.

  Not this.

  “Oh, it’s one of THOSE jobs,” he said, sipping his coffee. That meant they needed to bring their A game. This was going to be a tough one. Now it all made sense as to why they were there that early in the morning.

  “Yeah, it is,” she said, motioning toward her ME. “Chris, open the bag.”

  Chris was already geared up to do his job. He was in scrubs, wearing gloves, and he had his face guard on the table beside his scalpel.

  When she gave the word, he opened the body bag.

  “That’s gross,” Noah stated, staring at what was left of the man. On his chest was a hunk of flesh.

  “What’s that?” he asked.

  “Uh, as a gay man, you should be able to identify a dick,” Elizabeth stated.

  All of the men cringed.

  “Christ. What happened to that poor bastard?” Alex asked, pointing at his remains.

  The man was a bloody mess, and his face was pulverized. No one ever got accustomed to that. The smell…it was distinct.

  Doctor Dalia Duncan whistled.

  “What happened is blunt force trauma to the head and upper torso, and someone was pissed at the time to take off his penis.”

  Chris agreed.

  “Here’s the thing,” Elizabeth began. “We are working this old school. There’s no name attached to this body.”

  Christina stopped her.

  “Uh, that ties our hands. We can’t use some of the investigative tools without medical records or a name. That makes this a million times harder and less accurate.”

  She was aware.

  “We have a name.”

  “You know it, and you aren’t going to tell us?” she asked. “Who exactly is privy to that little detail, boss lady?”

  She, Chris, and Callen raised their hands.

  “We know it.”

  Christina focused on her boss. That’s when the wheels began turning.

  “What happened to your face?” she asked, noticing the boss was wearing makeup, and Chris looked equally dinged up. “Did you kick the crap out of Chris?” she asked.

  Alex laughed.

  “It happens to the best of them.”

  “She didn’t do this to me,” he offered.

  They all looked at Callen.

  “Not him either.”

  Christina didn’t like games.

  “Okay, I know something is going on. My tech senses are going wild. Someone had better spill why we are here before work, after a mysterious van dumped him off, and you two look battered. What went down?”

  Elizabeth couldn’t give them that.

  Well, she could, but that would mean putting her trust in them. She wasn’t really worried about her team. Who concerned her was the new ME. She didn’t know her well enough to trust her. Everyone else…she’d worked with them before and believed in their skills.

  Elizabeth hated wildcards.

  The new ME…yeah, she was one.

  “As I was saying, this is classified. Everyone in this room is cleared to work this,” she said, pointing at the g
roup. The only people missing were the two techs, who wouldn’t be privy, and Ethan, who already knew.

  “I need all of you to give me your word that this will NOT leave this room. If it does, heads will roll. We could all lose our jobs.”

  Christina gasped.

  “Shit! This has to be huge.”

  Oh, it was.

  “Okay,” Noah stated. “We can work low-key. I’ve done it before. I promise I won’t say anything.”

  That was one.

  “Max?”

  “Loose lips sink ships. I’m in.”

  That was two people from her team. She looked at Alex and waited.

  “I love an adventure. I’m in.”

  Three.

  She didn’t need to ask Chris or Callen.

  “Chrissy? Want to play super tech on a case so big that it will blow your mind?” she asked.

  The woman laughed.

  “Will there be food? I’m very food motivated these days,” she said, rubbing her baby bump. “Say it with caloric intake. If my mouth is full, I’m not running it.”

  Oh, she’d feed them if they gave her one hundred percent.

  “Done.”

  “I’m in, boss.”

  She faced Doctor Duncan.

  “How about you, Doctor?”

  “I’m a medical professional. I can keep my mouth shut when need be. I’m in.”

  Well, that was everyone.

  That meant it was time to begin.

  “What’s happening, Elizabeth? You’re bitchy—not super secretive.” Alex stated.

  She was ready to give them what she had.

  “Yesterday, around nine in the morning, Chris and I were abducted right off of the street. It lasted a few hours, and that’s why we look like we were roughed up. We were.”

  Chrissy gasped.

  “Jesus!”

  Yeah, that wasn’t the half of it.

  “We were taken to the White House. There was a body, and they wanted my expertise to solve it, and Chris to do the autopsy. We were being held against our will.”

  That horrified everyone there. They knew the implications of it. How could the White House sanction someone’s abduction? This was a free country. That was shit that went down in third world nations or countries ruled by the military.

  “Again,” Alex asked, “who did he kill? We all know if you were brought there, it’s to clean up that douchebag’s mess.”

  Oh, they were going to be shocked.

  “May I introduce you to Damian Dean. This is the president. He’s been murdered.”

  They all stared at him.

  Then her.

  Then back at him again.

  “Oh, boy,” Chrissy stated. “This is not only classified, but this is a clusterfuck.”

  Yes, yes, it was.

  It took a second before anyone else said anything. Finally, the silence was broken.

  “Blessed baby Jesus,” Alex stated. “Someone was NOT happy with him.”

  Elizabeth gave them what she could. If they were to work this, they’d need anything that would help.

  “He went upstairs, in a secured hotel—to meet up with a…well, I’m not sure. They think someone he customarily liked to hookup with who was not his wife. We’ll call her mystery side piece—until we have her name.”

  No one was shocked, but the new doctor. Clearly, she didn’t run in the same circles in DC. Anyone who had worked for the federal government knew that the president liked to put his dick in just about anyone who was female. If she was attractive, he was willing to go there.

  “Oh,” said Dalia, looking horrified. “He went to get laid and lost his head,” she stated, pointing at his dismembered member.

  “I love a doctor who doesn’t beat around the bush,” she admitted.

  Chris laughed.

  “Technically, he was trying to beat around the bush. I just like to keep my mouth shut.”

  Despite the situation, she found both MEs funny. If they couldn’t laugh while handling this case, it was going to be long, tedious, and a marathon.

  “Well, as we can see, his bush-beating days are well over. Someone, and they say they have NO clue who it could be, beat him with something. We didn’t get a weapon, but it was effective since he is deader than a doornail. We, all of us, since you’re my team, are being tasked by Gabriel Rothschild to find his killer.”

  They laughed.

  “I love when the team laughs over a dead body. It makes me feel so much better about my choices in investigators,” she said—not surprised by their reaction.

  Honestly, if she had been in their shoes, she would have done the exact same thing.

  “He was an asshole,” Chrissy stated. “I don’t like the way he treated you, or my sexy Native.”

  “He was an asshole to Kane?” Callen stated.

  “No, Ethan. Did I say my sexy Native?” she teased. “My bad. Sorry. I meant her sexy Native.”

  Elizabeth gave her a fist bump.

  “Nice try. I’m telling your husband,” Elizabeth stated. “Now you’re in trouble.”

  Christina giggled.

  “I love when he punishes me,” she teased, and then when they all gave her the look, she added, “since this case technically didn’t happen, you can all put your looks away. I’m going to enjoy it before she threatens to send me to the principal’s office.”

  Elizabeth figured as much.

  “Anyway, this whole thing will be kept off electronic record. We will run it with paper and pencil.”

  They stared at her like she’d just told them there would be daily floggings too.

  Or they were confused.

  It was hard to tell with her team.

  “Pencils. You know…those things that are long and thin with lead in the middle? We used them in school when we were growing up? You sharpen them?”

  “No tech?” Chrissy asked, appalled by that. “You were serious?”

  “No tech.”

  “Well, someone certainly doesn’t want this case solved anytime this millennium,” Christina stated. “Let me get some rocks and strings to measure him.”

  She laughed.

  “You can use tech to find the answers, but you keep it off tech. No emails, not updating the electronic worksheets you fill in and send to the server, or wherever they go. All reports are on paper and handed directly to him,” she said, pointing at Chris, “who will hand them to me,” she said as the Autopsy One door unlocked again, “and then right to him,” she said as Ethan walked into the room.

  “Sorry I’m late. We have company.”

  Behind him was Marcus Hunter and his marshal, Harmony Wells. Elizabeth pointed at the body, and Chris zippered up the bag.

  “Uh, Ethan, closed autopsy,” she reminded him. “I know you don’t forget things this easily.”

  He was aware.

  “Marcus was at the party Sunday night,” he stated. “He was also there when they found him.”

  She didn’t say anything since there was still one more person in the room who wasn’t supposed to be privy to any of this. No offense to Harmony, but she wasn’t exactly an investigator. She booted doors and chased fugitives.

  “Marcus has offered his help on this case, and by help, he means someone who might be able to assist you.”

  She glanced over at Harmony.

  “Uh, we aren’t kicking in doors,” she stated. “No offense, Wells, but I don’t need you.”

  She smiled.

  “Blackhawk, you do need me. I know something big is going on. DC is alive with tension.”

  She wasn’t sure why Harmony knew that.

  Word couldn’t be out.

  Marcus clarified for Elizabeth, “Harmony knows most, if not ALL of the Secret Service people. She started with them and moved to our agency. She’s going to be your best aid in dealing with them,” he said, not really shocked that Elizabeth wasn’t really keen on the idea.

  She mulled it over.

  They could use a connection to anyone w
ho worked in the Secret Service. They were a tightlipped group. This might be something good.

  Plus, there was that awkward energy in the room.

  Elizabeth noticed that Max was doing ANYTHING to not have to look at the woman. At that moment, he saw something fascinating with the lid of his paper coffee cup.

  Yeah, that made her curious.

  “As in KNOW-KNOW, or as in…”

  “Did you just allude that I slept with the entire Secret Service?” she asked, teasing the woman she genuinely liked.

  “Yeah, she pretty much just called you slutty,” Christina stated.

  Elizabeth laughed.

  “I did not! You didn’t let me finish, so that’s on you. How well do you know them? Like they’ll trust you to talk to you?”

  “I know them well enough that I don’t like most of them, and I was very glad to leave there to be a marshal. I can help clear the way with some of them, and the rest, I can give you intel on if you need it. Whatever this is, Blackhawk, let me hang. I can do the job.”

  That worked for her, but Elizabeth was now even more curious. No one ‘left’ the Secret Service. That was the pinnacle job in DC. If you were on protection duty, you thought you were the shit.

  Why would the woman downgrade?

  It made her curious like a cat in heat.

  “How much do you know?” she asked, trying to feel the whole situation out.

  “Chaos went down at the party. I don’t know much more than that since I wasn’t there, but word spreads fast in DC. I only got bits and pieces from people I know, but I know something is up. Unfortunately, I was busy on a very disastrous date, but had I not been, I would have helped out there. The Secret Service uses the marshals when they need extra protection.”

  Hmmmm…

  Disastrous date?

  Max was bright red. Elizabeth had no doubt in her mind what had gone down.

  Interesting.

  She was also intrigued that Harmony had some connections in that group. Since she clearly didn’t know WHO was dead, but that DC was stirred up, it was only a matter of time before word was out. The Secret Service was losing control of it.

  Now it came down to could she utilize this?

  Yeah, she could use Harmony’s ears to her advantage.

  “Am I in?” she asked. “Whatever you’re working on, I can handle it. Marcus didn’t give me much, but when I told him something was going on, he pulled me for this.”