Devil Hath Come (an FBI/Romance Thriller ~book 7) (64 page)

She had a very valid point. “I guess
that you’re right.”

“Not every woman is going to own toys. I mean look at me. I don’t have anything like that. I like mine living and breathing,” she teased, winking at him.

Blackhawk snorted. “You won the plaything lottery, baby.”

There was no way she’d disagree with that assessment. In fact, she was willing to do cartwheels over it.

“Come on. Let’s get out of here. We’ve looked everywhere and there’s nothing.”

“Okay, but let me send a text to Cal
len. Maybe they found something.” Elizabeth pulled out her phone and typed it up. “Done.”

On their way out, she received her answer. “Wait Ethan. They found a satanic book under the cover of a
Wiccan one. We might have missed something.”

They headed back to the shelf to
scan all spines. Pulling down all the ones with jackets, they checked it out.

There weren’t that many that they needed to go through to find their answer. Even with that lead, it was a dead end.

“It looks like our victim had nothing in common with her namesake. She didn't have an ounce of curiosity at all.”

Eli
zabeth stared at the bookshelf and one item caught her eyes. In fact, it did more than that. She’d found something that gave her a clue.

“Ethan, look,” she said, picking up the picture frame
.

He moved to her side and stared at the women in the picture. “Wait, isn’t that all the victims?”

She nodded. “We have all four women that were killed in one picture.” Then her finger traced the bottom of the silver frame. It ran over the words
‘Best Friends Forever’
.

Yeah, every hair on the back of her neck stood up.

“Can you call Callen and ask if they have a picture just like this there?”

“You think they will?”

She did indeed. “I have one just like this on our shelf. It has Livy and myself in full tactical gear when we were partners in the FBI.” Then she paused, thinking about it. “We also have one of you and Callen before our relationship.”

He
saw where she was taking it.

“
Livy has a matching one of us, and your bother has one of you guys.”

He started dialing and when Callen answered, told him what to look for in the apartment. When he found it, Ethan nodded and hung up.

“Our killer may have been grabbing the women after the circles, but he wasn’t doing it randomly. He took these four friends specifically,” stated Ethan.

She was
excited to have the first thread to begin connecting it all together.

“
Now, we need to figure out why.” Ethan sent an email to Christina to research the other apartments for photos.

She stood there staring at the one woman
who appeared to be at the center of it all, and didn't have an answer to that question. Somehow, she believed the dead woman had gotten in over her head.

“Harmony, what did you do?”

~ Chapter Sixteen ~

Saturday Afternoon

Cyra dropped
him off at the shop and headed back to the morgue office. Callen had instructed her to work on the financials for their dead victims and to locate the deed to the newest crime scene. That should give their probee plenty to do until they were back in-house.

As he was s
tanding outside the shop, he could feel them moving towards him. When he turned, he found his brother and the center of his life, crossing the street with Rex leading the way. Opening his arms, she raced towards him and he sweep her up off her feet in one of their hugs.

“I missed you, a
ngel.”

Elizabeth kissed him on the neck as she buried her face against his shoulder. “I feel the same, Callen. I really am glad we’re back together
today.”

Callen gently lowered her feet to the ground. “I can’t wait to watch you in action in there. Does that make me sick?” he teased.

“Pretty much,” Ethan replied.

“Hey!”

Elizabeth stared over at Ethan. “Don’t pick on my love monkey,” she stated, trying to keep a straight face. Callen was always complaining that he didn't have a nickname like ‘
love bug’
or ‘
sweet cheeks’
, and he didn't like ‘
stud muffin’
, so here it was in all its glory.

“Really? That’s
my redo?”

“You didn't like
the other one. I didn't give Ethan a chance for a new one if he didn't like it, so you pretty much have to suck it up.” Sometimes, she really loved teasing them both.

“She has a very valid point.”

They watched a customer walk out, and they made their move. Leaving Rex tied outside to enjoy some fresh air and sun, Ethan flipped the sign and Callen locked the bolt on the door. Their actions drew the attention of the proprietors and had them moving towards them.

“What has happened? You have the aura of death surrounding you,” asked Artemis.

Elizabeth didn't feel like sugar coating any of it anymore. Someone was jacking her around, and it was a matter of life or death to get to the bottom of it. “Yeah, well when you hang out with the grim reaper on a daily basis, you tend to stink like him,” she stated harshly.

They stared at her uneasily.

“Did you have a circle last night?” she added.

“No, as a matter of fact, we
stayed in the entire night. It takes a great deal of work to prepare for Samhain. It’s our New Year festivities. What has happened?” she asked once more.

“Then you both were together?” Elizabeth inquired.

Artemis replied, “Yes, we were.”

“The entire night?” Elizabeth pushed more, needing the answer.

Well shit! That meant that Ares couldn’t have abducted Pandora. This ruined her hopes of closing this here and now. There was only one shot left, and it rested on letting Artemis find the truth about her husband. Maybe then, she would rethink her corroboration. “I hate to be the one to tell you this, but last night the killer took another member from your coven.”

“Please, let
’s go sit in the back,” Ares said, feeling his wife’s hand shake in his. “I’ll make tea.”

They followed them back, but declined the beverages. After she dropped the bombs, Elizabeth somehow doubted they’d want to chit chat over a drink.

Sitting, she prepared to give them the bad news. “Last night, Pandora Bilmore was taken and murdered.”

Both of them looked incredibly
shocked and horrified.

“Are you sure it’s her?”

They all nodded, saying nothing more. They wanted to see the reactions and the responses of the couple. It had appeared genuine, but then again, they never expected him to be having an affair with Harmony Wilcox either.

“How?”

Ethan took over. “Well, if you didn't have a circle, that means he grabbed her wherever she was heading to or from. That now means that the killer is escalating even further.”

“Oh Goddess, this is horrible,” Artemis stated. “We will have to have a circle to mourn her loss.”

Callen spoke up, “Yeah, you know what? That’s a really bad idea. He’s already claimed one more, and that’s like inviting him to the party.” They knew that the killer had already taken everyone off the photograph. His next victim was anyone’s guess.

She considered
his logic. “You may be right.”

Wow, that was easy. Elizabeth was going to let their mediator work his magic more often. Generally, she suggested things and people just blatantly ignored her.

“Can we ask you some questions?” Ethan pushed, hoping to open the door for Elizabeth to start her maneuvering.

“Absolutely! We want to help.
We’ll do anything to assist you in finding this animal!” Artemis stated, wanting justice for her Wiccan family.

“I’m glad you feel that way,” she
replied as she leaned back. “I’m going to have to ask you questions, and I need honest answers.”

“We have nothing to hide,” stated Ares. “We harm none
, as it’s the law we live by as Wiccans.”

She figured
that was a good place to start. “I’m not going to lie, Jenna and Roger. We know everything about you both.”

It registered almost immediately.

“Those are names we buried many years ago, Director Blackhawk,” she stated. “They were from a different time and a life that we don’t adhere to anymore.” She tossed her red hair over her shoulder almost angrily.

Oh, Elizabeth could feel the ice wall forming. It was a good thing
that she was accustomed to chilliness and didn't mind busting on through it to get answers. “Yes, I understand that, but that doesn’t make it irrelevant.”

“We can discuss it all you want, but we prefer to not be addressed as those names. Surely, we can reach that agreement,” Ares stated.

Okay, she could do that. “Ares, you were arrested for statutory rape and are supposed to be registering as a sex offender. How about we talk about that first?”

Where she expected to draw some surprise, it garnered nothing.
Neither of them even batted an eyelash. It was as if they were ready and expected it.

“There is a reasonable explanation, and I think once you hear it, you will see
all of this differently. Already, I can tell that you’re judging me by what you perceive to be the truth,” Ares began.

She objected. “You’re very wrong
on that one, Ares. Our job is to ask questions and find the truth, not judge. We’re the law, not the jury.”

He nodded
, hoping that they would give him the benefit of the doubt. “Very well. When I was a teenager, I was dating a younger girl. I was seventeen and she was fifteen. That’s normal, correct?” he asked, looking at each one of them. “After all, that’s the age difference between you and you,” he said, pointing at Ethan and Elizabeth.

How he knew
that, they had no idea.

“We dated that full year and fell in love. We had sex, we made plans
, and we started to pursue other avenues of interest like Wicca. I turned eighteen and went off to college, but when I came back on the weekends, we were still together.”

Artemis continued
, “My parents were very disappointed. When they found out that I was planning on leaving their staunch Christian views for an alternative path, they became bitter and angry.”

The picture was becoming
clearer.

“So, in order to keep her from converting to Wicca, they attempted to keep me away from her. It lasted for on
ly two years. We’d sneak around or meet up in the woods, practice our magic and consummate our relationship. We were a couple. The only reason that I have the arrest and status of sex offender is because I dared to love a woman who was two years younger.”

Okay, so strike one there.
He was right, it made sense, and it wasn’t exactly uncommon for parents to try the statutory rape offense out to dampen love between young kids.

“When I turned eighteen, I left home and we were
immediately married. We left Washington and that ugly past behind to be a couple. In our journey, we’ve become stronger and more in love,” stated Artemis.

Yeah, unless you add in the sex talk with another woman. All the lovey dovey was nice, she believed in it herself, but enough was enough. “So
, this union that you have is unbreakable?”

“Yes,” Ares said.

“Then why were you having phone calls of a sexual nature with Harmony Wilcox? Before you deny it, we have phone records and a witness that overheard the conversation on her end.”

He looked shocked. “I assure you that I wouldn’t ever cheat on Artemis. She’s my other half. I swear to the Goddess, you have to be mistaken.”

Elizabeth stared at Artemis and she saw the truth. There was the look of fear at being caught. Well, well, if this wasn’t one hell of a twist that she didn't see coming.

Ethan took it all in,
as he watched to compare everything to his profile to see if either fit. He saw the look on Artemis’s face and knew what kind of heartache was coming for the man.

Apparently,
their fidelity was a one way street.

“I believe you,” she replied, staring over at the woman. “How long were you having a sexual relationship with Harmony?”

Ares looked over, shocked and surprised at what he was learning. “You have to be mistaken.”

Elizabeth knew they weren’t. “Yeah, I’m sorry that I accused you, Ares. I see that I was off a little on the who, but not the affair.”

“Artie, tell me she’s lying and making all this up!” he pleaded tears filling his eyes.

Callen hurt for the man. He couldn’t imagine finding out that Elizabeth was sleeping with someone other than him and Ethan.
He placed his hand on her thigh as he craved that simple contact for reassurance. It wasn’t lost on him that Ethan did the same thing as the possibilities haunted him too.

“I’m sorry, Ares. It just happened one night.”

The look on his face said it all. She couldn’t have hurt him more, even if she drove a dagger into his heart.

“But why?”

“We did a private circle, and it called for more energy and she suggested sex magick.”