Dead Shall Speak (An FBI/Romance Thriller Book 10) (45 page)

“That sucks,” she admitted, sitting back. “I really want to know where she went in.”

“Well, we can’t search all the woods in Belleville. That would take about four years,” stated Callen.

“Yeah, I’m aware. I hate that it’s a dead end. I was hoping that someone in his office would crack. What do we have on the other people we asked you to run?” Elizabeth inquired.

Broderick Seaton finished chewing, so he could reply, “I had Doctor Hertz from the dig site. He’s big into his job, the prestige, and being a pompous dick about it. His life is all about the classroom.”

Elizabeth was aware that the man was no longer on the dig, but that didn't mean they weren’t going to learn everything about him. “Why is a man so deeply entrenched in academia now hanging out in the dirt with people he obviously deems lacking?”

She wanted to know how deep her team dug, and if they had learned their lesson from the last case together. She hoped so, or it wouldn’t just be pizza she feasted on tonight.

Elizabeth would chew out their asses, big time.

“We were in town, hanging out at the coffee place. It seems like a lot of the college kids work or stop there. When we found a teacher’s assistant, we asked. The gossip is that the man was told that the university wants cross trained staff. With the budget cuts, if he wants to stay, he’s going to have to prove he can work in the field.”

She understood that. Why not get more money for your teaching dollars?

“Good work, Agent.”

“Thank you, ma’am. It was easy. Without our guns and badges, Joey and I blended right in. She looks like a college co-ed.”

Subtly, Johanna elbowed him.

It wasn’t lost on the three bosses. They’d caught the tone in his voice, and the look on his face as he gazed at her. Yeah, someone was definitely into his partner.

They let it go.

Broderick went back to his pizza, so he wouldn’t laugh at how riled up his partner was over all this.

Johanna took her turn. “Doctor Seston is in the same situation. While she does go out on digs more often than her co-worker, she is being asked to spend more time in-house teaching. She went out on this dig because it’s in her own back yard.”

Elizabeth nodded. “What else do you have on her?” If this woman had gotten Jaxon mad enough to strike out, there had to be more than what they had told her.

“Right out of college back east, she went into teaching. We did find out that she graduated with Doctor Armstrong. They were in school together.”

Interesting.

“Tony mentioned in his report to me earlier that the two women have been fighting for the same jobs and accolades for all of their professional careers.”

“Word in the café is that she’s big into sleeping her way to the top,” Johanna stated.

“Well, she’s pretty hot, so I can see that happening,” stated Brody.

She gave him a look.

Elizabeth almost wanted to laugh. Yeah, while Johanna looked freaked out, she now also looked pissed off at his comment. There was no doubt in her mind.

The agents were an item. Someone was breaking the FBI rules about agents getting horizontal with each other in their off time.

“What about the students at the dig site?” Ethan asked. “There are three, aren’t there?”

Both agents nodded.

Brody took this one. “We have Donald Hooper. From what we were able to find, he’s native to Belleville. He was accepted to the university on a full scholarship. We researched his high school records, and he earned it. If you look up nerd, there’s his picture.”

“Does he have any family?” Callen asked.

“His father is deceased. He had a heart attack a while back, and we can’t seem to find anything on his mother. We have her name and that’s it. She’s not in the picture anymore.”

“What about the female?” Callen asked, not willing to say her name. If he did, she might materialize.

Johanna replied, “Valerie Joseph is an enigma. She’s smart, comes across as cold, but is well liked. We asked quite a few students if they knew her. Mostly the men did, but few women could even recognize her picture.”

That made total sense, since the woman likely enjoyed the company of the male students more.

“Our last dig rat is Jeffery Whilton. He’s a rich kid from the area too. Let’s just say that he’s not on a full ride scholarship. Daddy bought his way into the university and the program. His grades are below par, and he’s far from stellar at what he’s trying to get a degree in. When we ran him, there were some pops to his record.”

“Like?”

“Speeding, sexually harassing a fellow student, and then of course there are the drugs,” Johanna stated. “This isn't the first university that he’s attended. He went away to school, but ended up coming back.”

“Where?”

“It appears Indiana.”

“What about his family?”

She flipped through her notes. “He’s a trust fund baby. His father is dead, and it’s listed that his mother divorced and moved away. We have her name, but as of yet she’s not getting back to us.”

“Where is she living?”

Brody grinned. “Get this. She’s into saving marine wildlife, so she’s in some hut on a tropical island. Unless we make a trip there, I can’t say she’s going to be rushing to call us back. She wasn’t exactly mother material. She was always working.”

Elizabeth ran her hand over her belly. Her heart skipped. Was that how people saw her? She was away from home all the time.

It made her heart squeeze in her chest.

The men must have known it upset her, because they both ran their hand across her body in reassurance. It was that light caress of fingers that offered her some peace.

“Okay, so that wraps up the dig team. Who’s next?” Elizabeth asked, trying to focus.

“We ran the three deputies, especially after Callen’s ‘Hell in the Cell’ cage match,” Agent Seaton stated. “My money was on you,” he added.

He opened his mouth to make a comment.

Elizabeth pointed, shutting it down. “Don’t encourage him. Now spill it on the deputies or I’m going to focus my attention on you two. I don’t think you want that.”

Johanna swallowed, right before she gave him a look.

Brody chose to laugh. He didn't have anything to hide. If it came out that he and Johanna had started sleeping together, he’d own it. He wasn’t willing to pretend.

This act was all for her, not him.

“Again, the deputies,” she warned.

This was going to be easy.

Brody began, “They’re all pretty clean. Deputy Trey Stephens, the one who got the Whitefox beat down, has lived here all his life. He graduated from high school a couple years ago. Apparently, here in Belleville, you don’t need a college education to become a law official.”

“It’s like a lottery. You drop your name in and you might get picked.”

“Great,” muttered Callen.

Johanna continued, “Davvy Weatherly is the newest of the team. He’s green as the grass and likes to lay low. We asked around, and the man gets pizza and heads home. He’s single and doesn’t really show up on the radar.”

“What about the other one? I think his name was Richmond,” Ethan stated.

“It is, boss. We have Peter Richmond. He did a stint in the military for a while, and when he came home, he was hired on as a deputy.”

“Anything on him?” Elizabeth asked. “I mean, anything that makes us want to take a second look?”

Johanna shook her head. “He was honorably discharged, had three tours, and there’s nothing in the military records that made us smell smoke. Do you think there’s anything there?”

Elizabeth thought about it. “Ethan, what’s your thought that the killer and the shooter are definitely two different people?”

He measured what they knew. “It’s a good chance. If we look at the first killer, he took women and buried them. If this second maniac is his protégé, then he’s not going to deviate from the plan. It’s like being trained. He’s going to follow what he learned to the letter of the law.”

They thought about it.

“I don’t think he’s going to skulk around in the trees taking pot shots at us, especially since it was relatively early in the case. It’s not like we’ve narrowed down the suspect pool and were coming for him. He’s a watcher. At this point, he’s going to lay low and study us. If he thinks we’re about ready to spring the trap, then he might strike out, but not before.”

It made sense.

“What’s your impression on Deputy Richmond?” Callen asked.

“Just from watching him, he’s hostile and easily angered. He is bumped way up on my list of shooters.”

Elizabeth had been thinking the same thing. “He’s ex-military and hates the Feds. Then add in that we get shot at? Does that shoot up any flags for anyone here?”

“It certainly does,” stated Blackhawk.

Pointing at her agent, she continued, “What guns does he own?”

Immediately, Broderick Seaton began typing. It didn't take long for him to find everything. When he handed his boss the tablet, she scanned it.

“Well, he owns the same gun that was likely used to shoot at us.”

Ethan objected, “Yeah, so do half the hillbillies in these woods. A shotgun isn't that uncommon.”

She grinned. “I’m not going to arrest him because of that,” she stated. “I have other plans.”

“What are you going to do?” he asked.

“Bug the hell out of him. If I rattle the tree hard enough, something good might fall out.”

“Rednecks from the sky like manna?” Callen asked. “That’s not exactly a good thing. You may not want to call one out, they may come in packs.”

She didn't care. Someone shot at them, and they were going to get to the bottom of it.

“What’s our next assignment?” asked Johanna, finishing up her pizza.

Elizabeth wanted to rattle her agents. “I want you and Broderick to get up close and personal,” she began, waiting for the reaction before she continued, “with all the backgrounds of the people you researched.”

Ethan gave her a look.

“See if any of them crossed paths with Ruth, Jacey, April, or Magdalene. If you find anything, let me know. Am I clear?”

The two agents stood. One looked cool as a cucumber, the other was flushed.

Yeah, there was something going on.

Now, it was a matter of deciding if she should step in and make a comment, or let it ride.

“Yes, ma’am,” Broderick stated.

“Do your research and make sure you go deep. The dead can’t kiss and tell.”

Again, Johanna looked freaked out.

When they grabbed their things and headed out, Ethan closed the door and stared at her. “Why are you scaring the shit out of our team now?”

She laughed. “They’re sleeping together.”

“Yes, I’m aware,” Ethan stated.

Callen was the only one who didn't know what was going on. “How do you know?” he asked.

She grinned wickedly. “Let’s just call it a hunch, and leave it at that.”

He knew better than to question her instinct. If Elizabeth said it was happening, he didn't doubt it. Then, toss in Ethan, and that was the deal breaker.

“What are you going to do about it?” Blackhawk asked. In a way, he was glad she handled the agents and he did the lab and tech team. This one wasn’t his cross to bear.

“What can we do?” Elizabeth asked. “For now, we watch and wait.”

“And?”

“When they screw up, then we decide.”

How hard they came down on them depended if they lied or not. For now, this was all up in the air, but eventually, they’d have to face it.

There was no doubt.

                                         *    *    *

Jaxon had just finished up the skull reconstruction for the night. Immediately, Chris was at her side, helping to wrap the victim up. She was a little caught off guard, especially since the man didn't seem all that open to it a couple of days ago.

Now, he was offering to help.

It was…weird.

The minute the skull was safely bagged and placed in the case, he appeared calm.

Again, that set off warning flags in her mind. Jaxon just couldn’t put her finger on why it was so strange.

Before she could ask him what was going on, Tony appeared in the doorway. She thought back to the sex they’d had earlier, and a flush crept up her throat.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he said, opening his arms for her. When she went into them, Tony relaxed. Having her back against him was nice. It helped him refocus on the things he needed to be worried about.

“How was your afternoon?” he asked.

“Good. I was just finishing up. Want to see?” she asked, pointing at the box.

Immediately, Chris went into damage control mode. If that was Tony’s mother, the shit was going to hit the fan.