Redemption is Here (An FBI/Romance Thriller Book 9) (8 page)

Elizabeth was confused. “Well, are you?”

“There’s this deserted island out in the middle of the Indian Ocean. I believe there were once inhabitants
there. I’m heading out to look for remains and start working on my next paper for the journal.”

She stared at him
incredulously. “What? Disney was booked?”

Tony began laughing. “I like doing stuff like that.
Besides, everyone knows Disney is actually the mouth of hell.”

Elizabeth stared into his aqua eyes. “Tony, that’s not a vacation. A break from work means doing the opposite of what you normally do. When I go on vacation, I strap on a bikini and get some sexy man to bring me drinks.”

He snorted, recalling that one time in the swamp. “We have pictures of you in a bikini and your men bring you coffee all the time.”

Okay, he had her there.

“Let me rephrase that. You nuts aren’t anywhere near me at the time. The drinks Ethan brings me have drunken fruit in them, and Callen rubs on the sunblock. You and I both know you’re missing the point on this one. You need to take time off to decompress and stop thinking.”

“
On your last vacation, you worked a case,” he pointed out.

Yeah, he had her
again.

“Okay, point taken. So
, you’re going to the island to look for remains. Then what?”

“Then home to watch TV. Chris isn't home, so I can’t go hang out with him. I don’t really have a lot of friends. I’m kind of an academic nut. I tend to get lost in my work.”

“You really miss him, huh?”

He nodded. “It sucks. I know he’s got a spiffy new wife now, but I feel like I’ve lost my best friend.”

She sympathized.

“Can I ask you a question, Lyzee?” He lowered his voice and looked around. “Am I really missing anything? I watch you
with your men and you look happy. Christina bailed on us to be with some guy, and now Chris, Mr. Bachelor, has found someone too. Am I crazy for being happy alone?”

She had never had a conversation like this with him before. Generally, Tony Magnus was silly, a jokester, and a bone guy
to the core. “Do you want me to be honest?”

He nodded, almost like a little kid. “Yes, please.”

“Yeah, you are. When you find that one, it’s going to take your breath away. You’ll want to be with them all the time. If you’re apart, it’ll hurt. Life will change around you for the best.”

Tony thought about it. “What if I never find her?”

She patted his cheek like a mother would. “You will, grasshopper. You just have to keep your eyes open and wait for cupid to shoot you in the ass with an arrow.”

He found that funny. “That sounds painful. I guess I should start putting myself out there. Who wouldn’t want a man who digs around with bones and bugs all
day?”

The tone in his voice said it all. Now, Elizabeth got it. Someone had kicked his heart around once before. It was clearly written on his face.

“A lot of women. You’re a catch, Dr. Magnus. You’re funny and smart. Trust me. Women like that in a man. I’m telling you that Cupid will strike when you least expect it. I didn't think I’d be marrying Ethan after four days, and I certainly didn't think I’d be shacking up with Callen. Life has a way of catching you off guard. You’ll find someone who is intrigued with your bones and bugs. Then, you’ll be golden.”

“You’re good at this mothering thing.”

She laughed. “Thank you, I think.”

“Speaking of which
, how’s baby number four?”

Elizabeth laid her hand protectively over the child growing in her womb.
“Charlie is doing well.”

He rubbed his hands together. “I can’t believe you told me the name. You know the techs are dying for any gossip.”

Leaning back in the seat, she glanced over at him. “I’m not worried. You won’t say anything.”

That caught him off guard. “I won’t?”

“Nope.”

“How do you know that?” he challenged.

She grinned at him. “Because you’re my friend, and I shared something personal with you. We’ve been buddies for a long time, and you don’t betray the people you care about.”

He hated when she did that. “You are like a mother. You suck the fun out of everything.”

That made her laugh. “Yeah, so I’ve been told.”

                                 *     *     *

Callen finally got some other living, breathing people on the scene. Chief Molala sent a few of the Native police to keep him company until his team arrived. Officer Brewster was currently trying to offer him a cigarette, and the story of his latest sexual conquest.

Neither of which he was in the mood for.

Yeah, this was the longest day ever.

Just as he was about to go bang his head off a tree, a
cheerful yellow Jeep could be seen through the trees. Out popped a tiny, little sprite of a woman with bright red hair. Callen watched her navigate the thicket to reach him.

“Are you
Director Callen Whitefox?” she called, heading his way.

Holding out
his hand, he shook hers warmly. “I’m going to assume you’re the anthropologist out of Quantico?”

She smiled brightly. “
Yes! I’m Doctor Jaxon Armstrong, but you can just call me Jax. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Director.”

Callen was thrilled to have anyone who wasn’t a local by his side. At least he’d have some normalcy at this point. It wasn’t easy to keep the Natives from getting restless.
It was getting harder and harder to keep them from poking at the mummies. Everyone was getting antsy with the bodies.

Then again, he couldn’t really blame them.

“I’m ready to see the remains,” she said, dropping one of her latex gloves.

Immediately, Officer Brewster was at her side getting
it. “Here, ma’am,” he offered, staring at her like a ravenous forest animal.

Callen gave him a look.

If she noticed his lecherous stares, she didn't comment. “Thank you, officer. I appreciate it.”

The man
was practically salivating over the pretty doctor.

Callen could see the wagons circling. The Native man was about to play ‘catch an outsider’. Well hell! Now
, he had to babysit this mess too.

‘Hurry up, Lyzee,’
he prayed.

The little woman rushed past Callen and to the first hole. When she dropped down to her knees
to reach for the first body, Callen nearly had a stroke.

“STOP!”
he blurted, causing everyone there to jump.

Her hand paused mid-air. “What? Are they booby trapped?” she asked, staring up at him with wide blue eyes. “Did I set off some trap?”

He stared at her like she was nutty. “No, you can’t touch the bodies until an ME gets here. That’s standard FBI procedure. Is today your first day?” he asked.

She stared up at him
as she did the mental math. “Of course it’s not.” Ticking the days off her fingers, she finally answered, “It’s my fourth.”

Callen prayed she was kidding. “Tell me that you’re shitting me.”

Jax got up from the ground, unsure what the problem was. This wasn’t the first set of remains she’d seen in her life. In fact, there were so many that she’d lost count.

“I was told to get on a plane, come here, meet some Elizabeth chic
, and deal with four corpses wrapped like mummies. I’ve done all of that but the ‘meet Elizabeth’ part.”

“So, this is your first day on an FBI crime scene
, but not working as a Fed.”

“Well, yeah, I guess that’s accurate.
”

He would have slapped himself in the forehead, but what would be the point. Of course he was going to get a newbie anthro. Theirs was on vacation starting tomorrow.
Callen knew that the minute his woman arrived, there was going to be an interesting conversation. Now, he only hoped the doctor in front of him survived.

Patience wasn’t
Elizabeth’s virtue. She was going to lose her mind.

“You can
study them. You can make notes on your tablet, but you can’t touch them. Am I making myself crystal clear?”

She stared at him like he was out of his mind. “Why am I her
e then? If I’m not allowed to actually touch them, then I can be in some lab, waiting for them to be dropped off. I’m not used to this kind of thing.”

He rolled his eyes. “Listen, you’re not to touch them. You’re an anthropologist, so that means you can probably tell me something from looking at the wrappings. How about we start there?” Callen offered
, the mediator in him kicking in.

Jax got back down
to her knees. “Okay, Director Whitefox. We can do this your way.” She began studying the carefully wrapped remains. “What I can tell you is that this is absolutely fascinating. These bodies were prepped for burial much like those of the ancient Egyptians. I can smell the frankincense from here.”

Heading to the one body, he got her attention. “This one really smells like it.

Following, she dropped down on her knees and leaned forward.

Callen prayed she didn't fall in on the body.
In fact, he grabbed her by the back of her jeans, clinging to the belt. He didn't need to explain to Elizabeth why her anthro had been lying on the remains.

“Can’t I just
peek inside this one? To an anthropologist, this is like Christmas morning. They’re my presents, and I really want to get inside.”

He wasn’t sure what the hell went on
at her house for the holidays, but on a scene they didn't open corpses for shits and giggles- not working for the FBI, and certainly not for a holiday fun fest.

“Aww, let her open one. You have four,” stated the officer
, trying to score babe points with the doctor.

Callen merely pointed at the man, giving him a look
. It must have said it all. The man zipped it.

“No
way! Not until the ME arrives. Then, you can talk to him about it. He’s likely going to want to transport them first.”

“Again, why am I here
then? I could be in a sterile lab twiddling my thumbs.”

Yeah, apparently, he wasn’t that lucky.

Where his first instinct was to tell her why, he opted to do something that would save them grief later. He was going to contact Elizabeth and give her the heads up. It was shit like this that made her insane.

Pulling out his phone, he sent a message.
Right about now, the team should be on the ground.

Or
so he hoped.

There was one thing he was clear about.
Gabe had struck again. The gift he gave them was going to be one hell of a handful. They had an overeager, newbie anthropologist, who wanted to run amuck on a crime scene.

Just great.

             
                   *     *     *

From the road markers, she could tell that they weren’t far from the Black Mountain Reservation. It bordered the town that the team would be staying in. From what she could visually assess, Devil’s Lake appeared to be a quiet place. There were shops, bars, and lots of skiing places. Obviously, this was a big resort town during the winter season.

Being spring and exceptionally warm, all the tourists had abandoned ship, which worked just fine for her. That meant fewer suspects to deal with.
This assignment was going to be hard enough. Since the bodies were buried, most of their trace was going to be compromised.

They were starting at zero.

When her phone chimed, she glanced over at Tony riding beside her. He’d called shotgun before the ME could.

“Can you grab that, Tony? Read it to yourself first before
you say anything out loud, just in case.” She was hoping it wasn’t going to be sexual, but Elizabeth knew Callen was a wild card. One never knew what he’d be throwing out. Tony would bust her, but Doctor Legend was questionable. She didn't need anyone going to HR and saying she forced them to read porn.

That made her snicker.

“What?”

“Just read it and if it’s clean, read it out loud.”

He did just that.

“You’re good. It’s about Director Rothschild’s anthropologist.” Then, he snickered.

“What did Callen say?”

‘Our anthro from Gabe is going to be a handful. She’s trying to unwrap the mummies before you get here. Hurry, I don’t know if I can keep her out of the holes! P.S. Today is her fourth day on the job. Congrats, momma! It’s a newbie.’

Zane voiced his displeasure from the back seat. “She can’t touch them. They’ve already been disturbed by the tribe. We’re going to have inconsistent trace all over the material. Our only hope is that the killer left something beneath. If she opens them, they’re contaminated.”