Past Will Haunt (5 page)

It was a close one.

Livy started laughing. “That bad, huh?”

“Yeah, it’s that damn bad.”

       
         
* * *
  B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x   * * *

FBI Building

Washington DC

Traffic was a bitch, but with some lights and sirens most of the morning commuters got the hell out of her way. Elizabeth missed the quiet of Salem. There was no hustle, bustle, or chaos. There was something to be said about the small town.

Plus, she missed her dad. Charlie was the love of her life, and she couldn’t wait to see him again.

Elizabeth was pulled back to focus by the honking of horns. Rush hour was one of her least favorite things, but it was the element of the beast. If you wanted to work in DC, you had to deal with the chaos. One day, if they were lucky, their office would be in Quantico. If Elizabeth ever moved up the ladder, there was always a chance she’d work out of there. That was where all the bigwigs hung out.

She had hope.

As she and Livy headed in through the basement with the body, Elizabeth knew what was next. At the elevator bay, she gave her ME a deadline. “You don’t have long, Chris. Gabe is going to want details, and fast. I can only cover for you for a couple of hours before he’s breathing down your neck.”

Chris was grateful. He didn't think the man liked him very much.

“If you keep him waiting, he’ll be heading down.”

“Yeah, I’ll put a rush on it.” Chris didn't want a run in with him. Gabriel Rothschild intimidated everyone.

“I don’t know how you two work with him,” he admitted. “He makes me nervous.”

“Gabe makes everyone nervous,” Elizabeth said. “I just ignore him and that makes him nuts.”

“I picture him in his underwear,” Livy said.

Elizabeth laughed. “You’re such a hussy. Where I come from, you see a man in his skivvy’s, you better be marrying him. My daddy has a shotgun and likes to use it.”

Livy offered her a fist bump. “There’s nothing like a shotgun wedding to get your blood pumping.”

Elizabeth winked at her.

Chris felt his face flush. He wouldn’t mind seeing Elizabeth in nothing more than a pair of panties. As the heat rose, he had to take a deep breath. “I’d rather not see him in his underwear. He’s not my type.”

Livy went to make a comment, and Elizabeth stepped on her foot in warning.

She yelped.

“Oh, sorry, darlin’. My bad. I didn't see your foot there.”

Livy gave her the look, knowing that was total BS. “Anyway,” she began, trying to cover her outburst, “when I see him, I think of him as the Dragon Slayer. He’s badass, but necessary.”

Elizabeth laughed. “Well, since he likely has us bugged, he now knows who made up that silly nickname. You’re screwed.”

They all shut up and looked around. With Gabe, anything was a possibility. He was very hands on.

When the door to the morgue opened, Chris headed in with the victim.

“See you in a bit,” he stated.

Elizabeth offered him a parting fist bump. “Autopsy her like your life depends on it,” she stated.

He returned the bump and smiled. “Always.”

When the door closed, Livy shook her head. “You’ve got problems.”

“You want to play find the dick with our boss. You should talk. Your problems are bigger than mine.”

She started laughing. “Damn right I do. Now I only need it to happen. I wonder where he keeps it.”

“Uh, attached to his body?” Elizabeth answered with a straight face.

As the doors opened, they headed into the bullpen. It was a flurry of activity. There were suit clad agents all over the place. Some were at their desks, some were leading suspects through the room, and some were heading out to the field.

At Gabe’s office, they found the man sitting inside.

From the look on his face, Elizabeth knew it was going to be bad.

“Yo! Boss, are you ready for us?” Elizabeth asked.

Gabe looked up, and his gaze wasn’t for her, but Livy. She would like to say she was shocked, but Livy was beautiful.

Interesting.

Where there was smoke, there was definitely fire.

“Yes, come in. Olivia, close the door.”

Livy cringed. She really hated when anyone called her that. It sounded like some old lady’s name.

“Here, Olivia,” Elizabeth teased. “You can sit right here in the chair closest to Gabe. You know, in case you find something.” It was hard not to laugh. She mouthed,
‘his dick’
, when he wasn’t looking.

Livy gave her partner a dirty look and flipped her off.

That made her laugh, and she had to cover it with a cough.

God!

She loved her partner.

“What’s going on?” Elizabeth asked, getting down to business.

“What did you think about today’s crime scene?” he asked, waiting for Elizabeth to answer. He knew she’d be the one to do all the talking. When it came down to it, Elizabeth was the investigator and Livy was more the stability of the team. She tried to keep her partner from breaking the law.

She thought about it.

“Other than it was gross?” she asked.

“Yes.”

Elizabeth knew him well. While Livy might be starry eyed when it came to the man, she wasn’t. Gabriel Rothschild had every intention to run the FBI one day. If he was asking you a question, it wasn’t for your opinion. It was because he had a reason behind it. This meeting screamed of ulterior motives.

She was a newbie, but she wasn’t an idiot.

“It was bad,” Elizabeth stated, “but you knew it would be, didn't you?”

He steepled his fingers as he studied them. While he knew Elizabeth would be okay with this case, he was worried about Livy. It wasn’t that she wasn’t capable because she and Elizabeth scored at the top of their class tied for first. It was because she was a redhead. After he got back to the office, telling the director who was handling it, he’d been given the order.

Livy was perfect for the job.

“We have a serial killer.”

Elizabeth crossed her legs and pulled the riotous mass of black curly hair to the top of her head with a hair tie. “We figured, since that’s the criminals we chase. Why are you being so guarded? We have a history.”

He glanced over at Livy with an embarrassed look on his face. He was worried what she thought by Elizabeth’s comment.

Curious.

Elizabeth grinned. Yeah, this man was smitten. He was flushing red as he hoped Livy didn't get the wrong idea.

“What I’m about to dump on you is pretty heavy shit,” he said, leaning back in his seat to control the thumping of his heart. His office smelled like jasmine, and he knew from stakeouts that it wasn’t Elizabeth. She was spicier in the fragrance department.

“What is it, boss?” Livy asked.

“Here.” Gabe slid the dossier across the table to them. He was well known for his ability to pull files together on the fly. It was one of his skills, and he’d saved many an agent’s ass in the field.

Elizabeth and Livy leaned over it as they flipped through the pages. On the first one, there was a bunch of information about Boston.

At first, Elizabeth didn't get it.

Then, as she continued reading, she saw what he wanted them to see. It was now crystal clear.

“Shit! We have a serial killer who is city hopping. This asshole started in Boston and turned up on our doorstep, didn't he?” she asked.

He nodded.

Great!

They were going to be cleaning up someone else’s mess. That was going to be worse than the actual case. The two agents in Boston let him slip away.

“He started in Boston, and we had two local agents working it. The trail went cold, and then he turned up here. To our knowledge, this is his first kill in our city.”

“How do we know it’s the same guy?” Livy asked. “Could it be a copycat?” She knew that serial killers didn't often hunt far from their comfort zone. It closed off a safe place to hide if the heat was put on them.

He liked when his agents asked questions. It showed they were all on the same page.

“Flip through the pages and you tell me what you think,” Gabe stated. One of the things he liked about them was that they didn't take long to figure things out.

They were newbies, but they were his best chance at closing this case.

That’s why he felt guilty.

Elizabeth would be the brains, and Livy…she was the bait. He hated that he was going to risk her, but he’d be there to watch her back. When the director demanded they use these two as their best chance at solving it, he wasn’t kidding. This case was at the top of every agent’s priority list.

If they failed, heads were going to roll.

He knew it.

The agents knew it.

For Gabe to risk two women, there had to be no other choice. His back was to the wall. At that moment, he had to hope he would be able to cover their backs.

As they checked out the pages in the dossier, Elizabeth quickly put it all together. She saw the one thing that would prove that this maniac was the same one.

“There’s one way,” Gabe stated.

“The only way we’re going to know if it’s him is when Chris does the autopsy. The killer leaves something behind.”

Livy read where Elizabeth pointed. She’d missed it. The whole notation was one line long.

“That’s it?” Livy asked.

“That’s it,” Gabe replied.

The women were now even more anxious about the autopsy. It all rode on that.

“That’s one detail no one knows but the ME in Boston. He kept it to himself. It was the only way we could make sure we didn't get any crazy copycats. They kept it close to the vest and now we’re going to use it to verify.”

Elizabeth looked at the medallion.

“Where was it?”

Gabe pointed down. “He inserted it in them after they were sexually assaulted. It seems that’s his calling card.”

“Gross,” muttered Livy. “He’s sick. I can’t believe we pulled this nut job.”

Gabe agreed. Honestly, he wished they didn't—not Livy, and not Elizabeth.

“You look worried,” Elizabeth offered, sensing his trepidation. “What’s up, Gabe?”

“There’s more you need to know.”

“What?” asked Elizabeth. What more could there possibly be? The man sliced apart his victims and shoved a medallion in their vaginas as a calling card.

Could it get worse?

“He moves fast. In Boston, there were five bodies in seven days. You aren’t going to have time to breathe on this one. It’s going to push you to the limits, and this is your first really big case. The media, once they get wind, is going to be all over you two. You have to run this like seasoned investigators.”

Elizabeth whistled. “Holy shit! We’re going to be busy. This is going to be one hell of a race.”

Didn't he know it?

“The director wants you on it, and he’s got the final say. You’re going to have to play this one by the books. He’s going to be scrutinizing everything you do.”

Great.

Like they needed more pressure.

Gabe watched them. He was debating on whether to tell the women why he picked them, or if he should hold it to his vest. Elizabeth was a friend, and they’d built something.

She’d understand.

He hoped.

Before he could offer up the truth about Livy being pretty bait to a madman, Elizabeth interrupted him.

“We need to hit the ground running on this one,” stated Elizabeth. “We aren’t going to have much time. If he mimics the same pattern, he should be dropping another victim tonight.” She scanned the file.

“He dropped three in three days before he took a break from the bloodbath. It’s likely going to be his pattern. If it is the same guy.”

He was well aware.

“The
‘Irish Butcher’
is a bastard. He likes sweet Irish girls. If you look at all the photos, you’ll see that they are all blue or green eyed, red hair, and fair.”

Elizabeth could see her partner from the corner of her eye. He’d just described Livy.

She narrowed her gaze.

Gabe looked away.

Well, shit.

He was thinking they might have bait somewhere down the line, and he was going to use her partner. Oh, that better not be why she was handed this case. Elizabeth hated when people picked them for cases because they had ovaries and breasts.