The Killing Times (An FBI Romance Thriller (book 1)) (15 page)

“It looks like she was crushed to death,” she said, softly. When he handed her the missing person report, she sc
anned the contents. “Kathy Cory- she works at the florist and is twenty one. Her father called it in when she never came home last night. She has red hair, freckles and was last seen wearing a black skirt, and red tank top. Once we get to the body, we’ll check the clothes, but so far, she matches the report.”

Everyone stepped back, as the crime scene team began snapping pictures. “Sheriff, there
’s something on the one rock. It must have slid off the pile and into the grass,” the tech said, pointing and then snapping more pictures.

Elizabeth picked it up and turned it in her hand. “It’s dried blood.”

Blackhawk and Sanderson came to her side to examine the rock. “It has something on it, a shape, but it’s smeared.” Lily took a close up picture. “Maybe we can get our techs to digitally play with it, find the symbol. I’ll get this over to them.”

Elizabeth nodded, “Doc, can we start removing the
stones?” she questioned, as he stood.

“Yes,
Lyzee. We need to set the poor girl free.”

“We’ll find the killer, Lyzee,” Blackhawk said softly, he could see the anger and
frustration on her face. If she wouldn’t get pissed, he would have offered her reassurance. Knowing the little he knew about her, she wouldn’t welcome it.

Now it was about the dead girl, and no one else.

“Thanks, Ethan,” she said, hoping he was right.

All three began the slow process of removing the rocks from the girl, listening to the ME give instruction. It was tedious and painstaking work. The medical examiner insisted on seeing the girl ‘
in situ’
, and the techs needed to check each rock for trace. They had bagged the red stained rock and were just trying to get to the young woman beneath the crush of stones. The killer had used the rocks from the stone wall surrounding the property. One by one piling them on her chest and body, until all the air was pushed from her, and she couldn’t even take a breath. It had to be a horrible way to die. On two of the top rocks, they found tread marks from shoes. At some point, he had stood on top of her, to make sure the job was done.

Just as they got to the last layer of rocks, she heard a shout, but it was more a howl of excruciating pain. Immediately, her attention was drawn to the house, and the large man rushing towards them.

“Shit,” she muttered, stepping into his path to intercept the man. Elizabeth knew it was going to hurt, as he plowed right into her. The wind was knocked from her, as she landed on her bad shoulder and slid in the grass. 

“Let me see my baby,” he yelled, in pain and anguish.

Blackhawk saw the sheriff go down, and needed to stop him before he could reach the body and contaminate the scene. They had yet to bag her hands, or check for any evidence on her person. He restrained him, as he fought hard to get to the victim.

“That’s my baby
!” he screamed in pain. “That’s my Kathy! Let me see her!” He fought to get past the agent, talking swings at him and connecting with his chin.

Blackhawk had no choice; he took him to the ground,
placing his body over him to keep him from their scene and from taking any more shots. He was relieved when Elizabeth moved towards them, helping him subdue the hulk of a man. “Are you okay?” he asked, watching her nod.

“Mr. Cory!
Stop! You have to stop right now!” she hissed through gritted teeth, as they tried to reach the man beneath the grief. “You have to let us help her now. She’s mine now and I’ll care for her, I promise.” Elizabeth peered down into his eyes when he calmed. They were so filled with pain and sorrow, she knew the look. Elizabeth had seen it before in the eyes of all the families when she had to tell them their child was a victim of a horrible crime.

“We have her, sir,” said Blackhawk. He motioned to Tony to come over and escort the man back behind the police tape.

“Yes, Agent?” he acknowledged, looking pale.

Sometimes crime scenes did that to those
who weren’t used to seeing life stolen and wasted. “Mr. Cory needs to sit down, take him inside the mayor’s house. Please get him some coffee, and keep him sequestered until we can take care of his child.”

Tony nodded, “Yes, sir.”

Ethan stared down into the man’s face. “We’re going to let you up. You need to go with the deputy and stay inside. If you charge us again, you will end up back on the ground or booked for assault on a federal officer. Am I clear?” His voice was tough and stern.

The man nodded, defeated.

Elizabeth heard the toughness in his voice, but saw it didn’t reach his eyes. He too, felt the pain this man was feeling. “Please, Mr. Cory, let us do our job now,” she said, rolling off his body.

Blackhawk did the same, and watched the man be led away. When he turned
, he saw that she was staring at him and holding a tissue.

“Come here
Ethan, your lip is bleeding. You must have bit it,” she delicately blotted his lip, and the trail of blood to his chin. “It’s split pretty badly; you should have the ambulance guys check it out.” She took his hand and put it over the tissue. She had to go back to the girl who was now her responsibility.

“Thank you, Lyzee
.” Ethan used the name again, wondering if she’d correct him. Blackhawk was oddly touched at the way she tended his lip, and didn’t give him a look at the use of the nickname.

She rolled her shoulder and felt the pain.

Damn it!

“He hit you pretty hard
, and you slammed into the ground even harder. Are you going to be okay?” Blackhawk watched her carefully.

Elizabeth lied
. “Yeah, I’m good. He just knocked the wind out of me. I’m much better now,” she answered, moving back to the rocks.

That he didn’t believe for a second
. She seemed to be favoring her right shoulder. Elizabeth was lying to him and he would find out why later. Now it had to be about the girl, and the heat was rising. They needed to get her bagged, and to the morgue before she, and the evidence, deteriorated even further.

Finally, they reached her. Beneath the last layer of rocks, was this tiny li
ttle woman. At the most she had to be about one hundred pounds soaking wet. Her hands were bound in front of her, and her lips were blue, and there was a blood smear from her nose to her cheek.

“Time of
death?” she asked Doc.

He pulled the liver probe from her body, and checked the gauge doing the math. “No more than eight hours ago, Lyzee
. I’ll be able to give you more, once I get her back and get the toxicology and internal done.”

“
Thanks Doc,” she replied, watching the woman being lowered into the black bag. “I’ll get a deputy to escort you back, and run interference with the press.”

“This is a field day,” he added, shaking his head in disgust. “Who alerted the dogs?”

“None other than our fine mayor,” she said, sarcastically. 

“
It figures and I’m not surprised. He’s a media whore. He probably thought this could help his political career and keep him in the office another term.”

“That’s what he said,” she answered. “Doc, get me all you can
and as fast as you can. I need the tox and results an hour ago.”

Blackhawk touched her right shoulder, and she flinched. It was slight, but it was there
. “Get them shipped to Quantico. The FBI will get the results much faster. In fact, all the results need to be shipped there.”

His eyes said it all.

Someone in this town was doing the killing; they needed to protect the samples and evidence at all cost.

“Ship it all, Doc,”
Elizabeth said. “We’re in bed with the FBI, until we find the killer.”

Ethan knew it was completely inappropriate to be going there, but he liked the sound of that- especially since it involved Elizabeth.

Doc Trudeaux nodded, taking the information from the agent. “I’ll start the autopsy in two hours, after the crime techs go over her body for trace. If you want to be there, stop in and join me. I’ll be taking a look at your shoulder too,” Doc ordered. “You took that hit with your body, and I think it exacerbated it.”

“Thanks Doc,” she said, kissing his cheek and rolling her eyes. “I’m perfectly fine and to prove it, I’m going to go chew the mayor a new asshole
. I’ll try to not to enjoy it,” she said, heading to the house, pulling off her gloves and handing them to a tech. The anger was back, and she had her target.

“Lily, can you follow the ME back? I think we need to make sure the media doesn’t cause anymore
of mess. If we have to, give the standard statement.” Blackhawk knew his partner would take care of it.

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to keep the sheriff from murdering the mayor, and then talk to the father,” he watched Elizabeth LaRue storm the house. “I’m going to try to anyway.”

“Good luck with that,” she muttered, putting on her sunglasses and following the ME to his van.

The FBI was going to make sure this all worked out to their favor. There was no doubt in her mind how she would handle it.

~ Chapter Five ~

Inside the mayor’s house, she found her deputy keeping the victim’s father sequestered and alone. Tony was sitting beside him, just allowing the man to talk, weep, or grieve for his daughter. The look on his face said it all, and he reassuringly patted the man on the knee, handing him another tissue. But for now, the father would have to wait. Elizabeth needed to talk to the mayor.

“Where’s th
at asshole, Argot?” she asked Christopher Santana, as he stood watch at the front door.

“The mayor said he had to go to work. He bailed pretty fast, and
the media followed him.” He jerked his thumb towards the door. “I tried to stop him, but he said he’d fire me.”

“He can’t fire you,” she reassured him. “I can fire you, the town council can vote to h
ave you removed, but ultimately only I can pink slip you.”

“Good to know,” he didn’t sound reassured.

“I want you to head to the morgue and keep the media off Doc Trudeaux’s ass to buy him some time. When I say keep them off, I mean far enough away that they can’t get pictures or anything that’s going to go to press and cause chaos. Clear?”

“Yes,
ma’am,” he said, tipping his hat, walking out the door.

Elizabeth found Blackhawk in the living room with Mr. Cory. He was sitting on the coffee table and talking softly to the man. When he saw her come in, he paused, “Do you want to do this?” The fact he was willing to defer to her, spoke volumes.

“
This one is all you, Special Agent Blackhawk.” Elizabeth could see he was already in his rhythm. Now she could openly watch him in action, and that was a welcome thing.

“Mr. Cory, we know how hard this is right now, but we have to ask you some questions. Are you up to answering them for us?” he stopped, to give the man a minute to think.

“Who are you?” he asked, between sobs.

“I’m with the FBI
, sir, and my partner and I are helping Sheriff LaRue find who hurt your daughter. We’re working closely to solve this,” he continued, patting the man on the knee, trying to use the right words to help soothe him.

“Okay.”

“Was Kathy seeing anyone?” he inquired, watching he man’s face carefully.

“I think so.”

“Anyone serious?”

The man blew his nose. “Kathy
was going out a few times a week. Mostly a month or two ago, and then she stopped. It just picked back up the last two weeks. She didn’t give me a name, and I didn’t bother to ask. I’m a horrible father.”

Elizabeth grabbed a bottle of water off the end table, popping it open and handing it to the man. She said nothing
. This was Special Agent Blackhawk’s show now, and he was building a rapport with the victim’s father.

“Did Kathy have any close girlfriends? Anyone she might have confided in
?  You know how girls like to talk?”

Mr. Cory rubbed his hands over his face. “Yeah, she had one girl. Billy Jo Cummings. They hung out, and she was pretty close
with her.” He swallowed the water in the bottle, his throat suddenly parched, as he thought about having to tell his family their Kathy was dead.

“Would you mind,
sir, if tomorrow we came to your house, and maybe took a look through Kathy’s room?”

Mr. Cory looked like he might start to cry again. “What do you hope to find? She wasn’t killed in her room.”

“Anything that might give us a clue to the killer,” Blackhawk reassured, again patting his knee, “or who she may have been seeing.”