Pledging to Die (An FBI/Romance Thriller Book 11) (38 page)

As he heard steps coming down the stairs, he glanced over. Calling to Sutton, he waited for him and Nels to join him. This was his kingdom, and there was no way in hell that he was letting someone destroy it, especially under the guise of brotherhood.

“Well?” he asked as Nels approached with something in his hand.

“His whole room is clean, except for this.” He dropped it on the table for Arman to check out.

They all stared at it.

“So?” Sutton asked, shrugging nonchalantly. “It’s a freaking picture.”

“Turn it over,” stated Nels.”

They did.

On the back was the damning evidence.

                ‘Joey and Brody—January.’

“That’s funny since it’s July,” Arman stated, leaning back in his chair. “It looks like the two love birds knew each other well before they met here at that party.”

Sutton didn't know what to say.

“I don’t trust him,” stated Nels.

“And did you find anything else or is that it?” Arman asked, knowing that at the least, they had him lying. Now he needed to know what else the man was hiding.

“Nothing at all. His room is clean. In fact, it’s organized and neat. None of his notebooks have anything in them, but hearts with ‘Joey’ written in them.”

Sutton laughed. “So we have a guy who doesn’t take notes while he’s at school. Sue him. I don’t either.”

Arman considered it all. He was pissed, but not sure what to do. “We checked him out, and he was on the up and up,” he stated. “We even searched online and found him with his father in a local paper. He’s definitely Broderick Seaton. Now we just have to figure what his game is.”

Just then, Garrick rushed in out of breath. “I followed him,” he stated.

“And?”

“He went right to the dorm and the girl, only it’s weird.”

Arman leaned forward on the couch. “What do you mean it’s weird?”

“There were cops, lights, and the entire place was lit up like Christmas. Something happened there, and he’s in the middle of it.”

That was interesting.

“He walked in with a bunch of campus cops, and no one stopped him,” stated Garrick, tossing them his phone.

Arman flipped through the pictures, and indeed, what the man was saying happened. This didn't look good for Broderick Seaton.

“We have a rat in our midst.”

Sutton tried one more time. “Come on, Arman. We don’t know that. He’s been visiting that girl all week. Maybe the security guard recognized him and let him in. This isn't proof. It’s paranoia!”

The man glared at him. “Are you with us brother or against us?”

“What are you going to do?” he asked.

“We’re simply going to take what he loves, and use it to get the truth. Maybe she is just his sweetheart, or maybe he’s a campus cop in disguise. Either way, tonight we’ll get to the bottom of it.”

Sutton leaned back and closed his eyes. This was all out of hand. He may be into the sex, but he didn't bargain for any of this. He had a feeling that it was going to be a big mess.

“Help us or if this goes down, we’re all pinning it on you,” Arman stated.

Sutton had no choice.

Why was he shocked that Arman would resort to blackmail?

“Fine. I’m in.”

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

Arriving on the scene, there was pandemonium.  There were cops and college kids everywhere, and Nick Rakin was desperately trying to hold it all together.

He was failing miserably.

As they ducked the police line, she could see from the corner of her eye that they had the wannabe reporter in their midst.

“Callen, grab him and put him in a police car. I’m going to make him shake in his college boots.”

He grinned ferally. “Can I watch?”

She didn't reply, since she was focused on the mess waiting for them. With Ethan at her side, she stormed the dorm.

“What the hell is going on?” she asked, finally reaching the sheriff. “This doesn’t look like it’s contained. In fact, I’m pretty damn sure it’s the opposite of contained.”

He shook his head. “The college kids are emptying out of their dorms. We had to put ups screens to keep the body blocked, but the dorm windows are open, and they’re going to be taking videos.”

“Well shit!”

She wanted to punch something.

“Who found her?” Elizabeth asked, keeping it under control. “Please tell me that it wasn’t one of my people.” Elizabeth didn't think that if Johanna was the one, the campus cops would believe it was a coincidence.

This whole undercover setup was close to blowing up, and she knew it.

“Ironically, the cop who was bitching about the girl, was the one who did. When I got here, he was standing over her body.”

That made her pause. “Wait. What? You said this was our third victim. She just turned up here?” Elizabeth asked, pointing at the body not far from the dorms. “She wasn’t there before. I’m pretty sure someone would have seen a decaying corpse, even a bunch of partying college co-eds.”

He had bad news.

“Well, you’re not going to like this very much, so I suppose I should be the one to tell you. Remember, don’t kill the messenger.”

That sentence alone spoke volumes.

Elizabeth knew for a fact that she was going to lose it. The look on Nick’s face, added to the chaos going on around them meant one thing…

Someone screwed up.

“Give it to me,” she said, as Ethan placed his hand on her lower back. It was his sign that she had to stay calm.

“Roddy found the body. When he was doing patrols, he smelled something foul. So, he climbed into the storm drain, and there she was.”

“That doesn’t look like the storm drain, Nick. In fact, that looks like the middle of the yard.”

“Well, after he found her there, he got it into his head that she shouldn’t be left in there. Apparently, he was trying to give her dignity, and you can’t fault him for that,” he stated.

Oh, yes, she really could.

And would.

“So, what you’re saying is that he pulled a week old corpse from the storm drain, and he’s pretty much fucked our scene, the body, and any evidence that might have been on her.”

He thought about it. “Yep, that’s just about what I’m saying.”

“Great,” she said laughing.

Ethan saw the eruption coming. While the tech team was his part of the kingdom to rule, when there was a case, Elizabeth had control over them.

Now her team was screwed.

When the men stared at her, she shook her head. “I’m not the one he needs to worry about,” she stated. “You see, when my ME gets here, Nick, he’s going to peel the hide off that campus dick. Doctor Christopher Leonard gets testy when someone plays with his dead.”

“He was just trying to help. You can’t fault him for that, Elizabeth. I mean, he found her. That’s a good thing.”

Elizabeth stared at him. “Yes, I can, and I can also fault him for one other thing that I’ve noticed.”

He scratched his head. “What?”

“Each time Johanna found a body, he was there. Now he miraculously finds our missing victim, pulls her out, and dumps his DNA all over her. Did he do it to be helpful or are we getting close? He was awful quick to blame Johanna. That makes me incredibly suspicious.”

Ethan agreed. “I can’t count the times a killer pointed out the body trying to be ‘helpful’. Sometimes, they think we’re moving too slow, so they like to give the investigation a push.”

Nick stared at them. “You’re suspicious of everyone now. Maybe that’s how he rolls,” he said, pointing at Ethan, “but you’re definitely not the sweet girl you used to be.”

Blackhawk laughed about that. “Oh, she’s sweet, until you get on her wrong side, and now Roddy Penson is on it.”

Hell yeah, he was.

Elizabeth couldn’t wait to brow beat the campus cop. She was looking forward to it.

When Chris Leonard pulled up, his boss was waiting for him. He should have known immediately there was an issue because she was blocking his path to the crime scene.

“Where is she?” he asked, already suited up.

“Wait, Chris. I have something you need to know first,” Elizabeth said, placing her hand on his arm.

He stared down at it, and then his eyes went wide. “Oh, no! Please tell me someone hasn’t screwed with my body. The only time you ever stop me from getting to work is when something has happened.”

Her team knew her well.

“You need to stay calm.”

Those words did the exact opposite of what they were supposed to do.

“Please tell me that Doctor Leape didn't beat me here,” he said, looking around. “Did he start poking at the victim?”

Oh, if that were their only problem, Chris was going to be happy.

No, this was far worse.

“When we arrived on scene, the body was already recovered.”

He paused, weighing her words. “Wait. Recovered? As in moved? Someone actually moved the victim before I got to see her?”

She nodded.

“They took pictures before she was touched, right?”

Elizabeth shook her head.

“No! What?”

It was time to break the bad news. “Our victim was found in the storm drain by a campus cop, and he was trying to give her some dignity, so he hauled her body up and out, resting her on the grass.”

He looked horrified. “On the grass? The same grass that people walk on all day long? The same grass where people spit and leave chewed up gum fraught with DNA?”

She nodded.

“Oh. My. God! No! This can’t be happening. No one is that big of an idiot to move a decaying body. She’ll leak fluids, it’ll mess with my time of death, and…”

She patted his arm. “I’m sorry, Doc.”

Chris stared at her.

“She’s blocked off now, and no one’s touched her since we arrived on the scene. This is one of those times where you can laugh or you can explode. I suggest you get your giggle on. You’ll feel so much better.”

He stared over Elizabeth’s shoulder at a cop standing between Ethan and Callen. He looked freaked out, and that meant one thing.

He was the one.

“So, what you’re telling me is that someone destroyed evidence, contaminated the scene, and now I can’t see the body in situ?”

“Pretty much.”

He glared at the man, pointing with a blue gloved finger. “If you don’t kill him, I will. He’s just made all of our jobs so much harder. If she was in a storm drain, the killer put her there. Now, I can’t see what position she was in, and that says a lot about a killer.”

He tried to get past her, but Elizabeth moved into his path. “Chris, we’re going to torment him, so you can go do your job. Trust me, no one’s happy with this, and I’ll make him pay.”

“Oh, I’m so far from happy, it isn’t funny. This week, I’ve had to babysit Doogie McCutter ME, and now someone screwed with my body.”

Elizabeth found that amusing.

“My leg hurts, I miss my girls, and now a campus cop has jacked with a scene? This is like my worst week ever.”

Then he stared at her.

“Why are you so calm? Normally, you’d be storming around like a lunatic, tearing everyone a new one. I think I like the old Elizabeth better. Where is she?”

She grinned. “Oh, she’s here, but because you’re not calm, I have to be. It’s not often that I get to be one of the calmest people on a scene. This is like a present for me,” she offered.

He let out a long breath. “Can I speak to the cop?” he asked.

“Are you going to hit him?”

“No! Are you insane? When’s the last time I hit someone out of anger?”

She couldn’t remember that ever happening, so Elizabeth figured they were safe. “I was just curious. I wanted to take a video to show everyone back home, that’s all.”

He laughed. “Thanks for that. No, I need to school him, since you’re irritatingly relaxed.”

She moved out of his way.

As Chris approached the cop, he motioned to Merry, who was carrying her tech kit. “Are you the one who found our victim?”

“Yes, sir. I was.”

“Then you’re going to hate this,” he said, turning toward Merry. “Strip him. I want his clothes, hair, and shoes. While you’re at it, take him back to the morgue and get nail scrapings, samples of saliva, and see if he has any dandruff.”

The man looked worried. “Hey! Wait!”