Fire Burns Hot ((An FBI/ Romance Thriller~ (Book 5))) (23 page)

When they all turned around, Elizabeth noticed the badge on his belt, and the name tag. It looked like the police called in the fire department’s investigator.

“I’m Patrick Wells. I’m the fire investigator for the city of Damascus.”

No one moved, nor were they impressed.

“I’m here to assess the scene and give you my information,” Patrick stated, pulling on gloves.

“Hold your horses, Mr. Investigator. You’re not allowed to touch the body,” said Elizabeth, stepping forward to impede his access.

“I’ve been given access by Captain Gilman.”

Now Elizabeth laughed. “I don’t care if you had an angel delivered message from God himself. I’m in charge of this crime scene, and I already have a fire expert here. So, you can back up and take off the gloves.”

The man stared her down, but before he could say anything, another man approached in a suit and looking pissed.

“What’s going on here?” he demanded.

Elizabeth
noticed that Callen moved closer and protectively to her side. “I’m going to assume by that shiny Captain’s badge that you’re the man in charge of the police detectives and CSI team.”

“I’m Captain Zane Gilman, and these are my people. I just received a call saying one of your people assaulted one of mine.”

Elizabeth laughed at that. “Your detective put his hands on me, Captain. I believe that’s assault, so half the bullshit you heard is correct. What actually happened was he grabbed my arm violently, as he was unhappy with being booted from the scene, and Director Whitefox slammed him against the hood of that car.” Elizabeth pointed.

Gilman looked over at Detective Austin, and she simply nodded.
The man sighed. “I apologize for my detective’s behavior.”

Elizabeth
stared at him emotionlessly.

“Can I speak to you privately?” he requested.

She followed, looking over her shoulder. “Back to work, Chris, and yell if anyone tries to stop you,” she paused, glancing at Callen and motioning to him.

“Agent, I’d really like
the fire inspector in on all of this,” he said quietly. “He doesn’t work for me; he’s an independent investigator, and neutral party.

“It’s Director, Captain. I head FBI West for a reason. Everyone thinks I just slept my way to the top, but I assure you the truth is I killed and maimed to get here.
Particularly assholes that think they can come onto my scenes and throw around their weight with shiny badges. Oh look, kinda like yours.”

Whitefox crossed his arms across his chest.

The man just stared at her unsure if he should bother making a comment or just let it go. The relations between them was already rocky and a growing issue.

“Here’s our problem. Yo
ur CSI’s didn’t do a really good job at retrieving anything from the scenes. They left a heel that was a murder weapon, condom wrappers, gum wrappers and liquor bottles.”

“We don’t get a lot of violent crimes here. Maybe it has to do with the FBI being our next door neighbor.”

Elizabeth shrugged. “I don’t get a lot of elephants running down the street, but I know that procedure calls for using a rifle not a nine millimeter to take it down. That’s common sense.”

He laughed. “My
detective said you were a bitch, and he wasn’t kidding.”

Callen tensed
and was willing to knock the man to the ground and beat him senseless.

“No, that’s probably the only thing he got right since these killings started.”

“Again, please Director?”

Elizabeth contemplated it
, turning and looking at Callen. “I lean towards no, but you’re the more level headed one, and in Ethan’s absence you get to be my conscience.” 

Whitefox was the mediator
in their life and in his job, and he knew why she was asking. “I think we continue to exclude the hot headed asshole detective and include the fire investigator. The more eyes on this one the better. He can help Tori out.” Callen knew she understood. As of yet they weren’t really sure what to do with their agent and her issues.

“Works for me.” Elizabeth started walking away from the
captain. “But if he fucks this up, he’ll be getting his ass handed to him, and you for requesting it,” she said easily.

Captain Gilman watched her walk away. Specifically her
fine specimen of posterior in those jeans and couldn’t help but grin as he thought about it.

“You may want to refocus your eyes on something else, Captain, before I take them out of your s
kull for you,” stated Whitefox. Men generally checked out Elizabeth, but it didn’t mean he had to like it or accept it.

The man looked over. “Oh, she’s taken? What a pity on that one. She may have a temper, but the package
on her would be well worth it!”

Callen wanted to growl but managed a civil reply. “She’s
more than taken and eyes off her ‘package’.”

He followed after his woman, letting it go at that
or his head might just explode.

~ Chapter Seven ~

       Mid-day

Elizabeth strode around the crime scene, making sure the tech team was catching everything. You couldn’t read the local PD the riot act about doing a shitty job, and then do one yourself. If her team screwed up, she had every intention of going bat shit insane on each and every one of them. The beauty was that they knew it.

“I get tomorrow’s Christmas
Eve, and I get that everyone is thinking about the company Christmas party, but let’s wrap this up. This woman deserves to have justice, as do the other five women. They don’t get a Christmas this year, but the killer does and that’s just not right.”

Stopping at Christina, Elizabeth put a hand on her arm to get her attention.

“Yes Boss?”

“
You look off your game, do you need to talk?”

Christina glanced over at her boss
and briefly hesitated for a moment. “Are you going to the Christmas party tonight?” she asked.

Elizabeth smiled. “Yes, Callen and I are going, but Ethan’s still in Quantico. He might not make it back in time.”

She nodded.

Elizabeth could tell something was bothering the woman. “Take a walk with me Christina,” she said,
heading towards her vehicle, the woman right behind her. “Now, why don’t you tell me what has you bothered? You’re generally all chipper and bubbly, and now you’re not even half-way to irritatingly happy.”

Christina looked around to make sure that they were completely alone. “I’m a little freaked out about t
he scars on my arms.”

She finally understood. While they were in Cypress Grove working, the killer decided to blow up a vehicle or two, and Christina and Elizabeth were caught in the explosion. Christina was a bit closer and took some war wounds because of it. Now she was super self-conscious about
the scars across her upper torso.

“I just feel like everyone will be staring at me
tonight. I don’t know if I want to go or not, and I just wondered if you were going to be there.”

Elizabeth took her hand in hers. “Want me to do something so completely scandalous that I become the center of the talk and
no one will even notice?”

Christina snorted. “Yeah, can you
arrange that? Or better yet, how about I do something scandalous with Callen, because that may work better.”

Now Elizabeth laughed
, ignoring that request. “Did you find a dress yet?” The Christmas party was semi-formal, and being hosted at the nicest venue in town.

“No, I’ve been a little busy.”

Elizabeth thought about it. “Let’s keep this between us, but after you do the retrieval, how about you swing on by the mall and get yourself hooked up. You should have plenty of time. I’m sure Chris will handle the techs for us.”

“Seriously?”
Now she was feeling better. “You’re going to let me take personal time during an investigation to get beautified for the party?”

Elizabeth laughed. “Let’s keep this one between
us, and if it gets out, we’ll blame Ethan. I have street cred to keep up. His is already shot to shit after he bought you that pink teddy bear.”

Christina smiled hugely. “You’re bad ass, but in a really good way,” and with that, she offered Elizabeth a fist bump and headed back off to work.
“I want you all to get every damn piece of retrievable evidence out here,” she yelled to her tech team. “Director Blackhawk needs it done and done to our standard!”

Whitefox watched her from a distance with the tech, and when she moved away, he approached her. “Everything okay?”

She nodded. “I’m just playing fairy godmother to Cinderella.”

He looked confused
and touched her forehead. “I’m sorry, what? Do you feel okay? Fever?”

Elizabeth smiled and let him in on it. “
That’s all. I was just trying to make her day a little brighter. Every girl wants to feel pretty at the party. I was just leveling the field for her, that’s all.”

Callen dropped his arm around her shoulders. “What would make your day brighter?” he asked, quietly.

Elizabeth didn’t have to think twice. “Ethan home in time for tonight. I’d like to have both of you beside me at the function. The Christmas party won’t be the same without him. It just seems unfair that he’s going to miss it because of work.”

“I happen to agree with you.”

Elizabeth shrugged. “I guess it doesn’t really matter. Life is far from fair, and we both know it.”

Despite her no kissy-face rule, he dropped a chaste kiss to the top of her head. Santa Callen planned on delivering
a special present to his angel, if it was the last thing he did.

Julian walked the perimeter of the crime scene and checked out all the possible exits and entrances into the clearing. Not
hing was touched. Maybe some deer and a few creatures of the forest, but there were no signs of anyone coming or going. 

“Find anything?” asked Tori, standing behind him
, watching the man work.

“No tracks, but,” and he paused, pointing at a liquor bottle
, “there seems to be a booze bottle tossed into the grass.”

Tori called Christina over. “We found a liquor bottle,” she stated, watching the woman cautiously step into the grass to retrieve it.

“I’ll have the tech team bag it. There won’t be results on it until tomorrow late afternoon.”

“Not a problem, Christina,”

The woman sealed the bag. “Are you going to the party tonight, Agent Christensen?” she asked, smiling.

Julian looked up at the woman, surprised to hear there was a party. She made no mention to him the entire time.
In fact, no one did. He had to wonder if that was intentional. Then he glanced around the crime scene. It seemed more probable that they were all just wrapped up in the homicides.

“I wasn’t planning on it,” Tori stated, feeling Julian’s eyes burrowing into her back.

“Too bad! Last year’s was amazing. Director Blackhawk is an amazing dancer, and you should see him and Elizabeth hit the floor together. I’m hoping I can get Callen to dance with me. That’s my goal, anyway.”

Tori just nodded as the woman walked away.

“Why don’t you go,” suggested Julian.

Yeah, it was so much fun going and standing in a corner alone. That just wasn’t her thing.
Besides, she wasn’t really a ballroom kind of girl. IED’s she got, along with Kevlar and body armor. Slinky dresses and dancing, not so much.

Julian watched as Tori simply shrugged, and said nothing. “
I’m here and I’d like to go. Want to be my date?” he asked, hopefully.

“Uh, Elizabeth invited you?” Tori stared at him blankly, waiting for his answer.

Julian glanced across the clearing. When he saw Elizabeth he whistled really loud, until she looked over at him.

“Yeah?” she called.

Julian grinned at her. “Can I go to the Christmas party if I bring an FBI agent as a date or is there some rule thing that I should be aware of?”

Elizabeth laughed. “The more the merrier. You can be our personal guest.”

Julian faced Tori again. “Next excuse?” He was ready for her.

She
simply stared at him. “Why Julian?”

It surprised him. “Because I want to see you dance, smile and be happy.” It was the complete truth. Something about the woman made him want to offer her
calm and peace. The storm that brewed in her eyes hurt his heart. It was such a simple thing and yet she was wound so tight, Tori wouldn’t or couldn’t let go.