Sacred Burial Grounds (An FBI Romance Thriller (book 2)) (49 page)

“I don’t feel well.”

Elizabeth ignored him. “Come on Joshua. I want you to meet the team.” She yanked him forward. “This is Susan. She’s been sitting in that pit with those women for about three hours now,” Elizabeth pointed at her one tech. “Want to tell her how she’s hiding evidence?”

“No,” he muttered, his face turning red.

“Hey, Josh, you don’t mind if I call you Josh do you? I mean, we’re best friends now right?” she said sarcastically, as she led him to her ME. “Josh, this is my Medical Examiner. He has to cut into the bodies we bring back and give them a story, so we can find them justice. You think he’s covering something up?” Elizabeth forced him to face Doctor Leonard. “It’s fun having to sift through a body that’s soup and decaying flesh, right, Chris?”

Doctor Leonard tried to not crack a smile. “You can come by and join me, Joshua. Corpse soup is awesome. Just don’t eat before
. The first hundred times you have to look at it can make you queasy. I don’t allow puking in autopsy either.”

The man was gone and the scared boy was in his place. “No, tha-nn-nk yoo-uu,” he stuttered.

“Oh look, here’s more of my truth-hiding team.” Elizabeth pointed at the techs carefully placing the fetuses in the bags with their mothers. “Hey Joshua, want to bet they have nightmares over dead babies?”

Elizabeth heard him swallow, trying to push down the need to vomit.

“I have those nightmares, Joshua, and I bet each person here does too. In fact, let’s take a poll. Who here has nightmares over the death, decay and dead bodies?” She was the first to raise her hands, and one by one, each of her team did too.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I didn’t know.”

“That’s my point, son. These men and women have been working for days to help the people on this reservation, and I need you to grow up and educate yourself before you open your damn mouth again,” she drawled. “I get offended by being called the Pine Ridge FBI. I also am offended by being told I’m out to get the Indians, especially when I’m married into a Native American family.”

“I didn’t know,” he mumbled.

“What we are is ‘overworked, tired, exhausted and mad as hell’ FBI. Pine Ridge was an atrocity and most of us here weren’t born at that time or infants. We’re here to help, and you’re making it damn difficult.”

Ethan Blackhawk wanted to laugh. The accent was out
, and his wife was angry.

Elizabeth pushed him forward. “This is the finest group of people I have ever met in my life
. They are the best at what they do. The most courageous and the brightest team I have ever worked with, and I take a personal offense to anyone saying otherwise to them. Am I clear, Joshua?” Now, her accent was full blown southern, and her team just stared at her, almost in awe.

He started gagging again, but had the fortitude to nod.

Elizabeth walked him over to the area away from the bones in case he did vomit. “Guess what Joshua? Those women aren’t Indian or Caucasian to anyone here. They’re victims. So get your eighteen year old, protesting, little boy ass away from my tape line. If you ever throw anything at me or my team again, I’ll drag your ass to jail for assaulting a federal officer. You think jurisdiction matters to me? It doesn’t. I’m three days past jurisdiction into God damn crazy!”

He started vomiting, and she held his hair back for him.

“Uncuff him,” she said to a tech, as she tossed him the keys.

Blackhawk wanted to kick the boy’s ass and laugh at the same time. His wife just schooled th
e boy, and he’d never be the same after today. “Again, is that blood?” He moved toward his wife, and Blackhawk was pretty sure he was going to commit homicide if he got his hands on the boy.

“Nah, it smells like corn syrup
.” She helped the kid stand and handed him a tissue. “Is this blood, Joshua?”

“No-no,” he stuttered.

“Good to know. Now my husband isn't going to kill you, because then we’d surely have a cover-up,” she paused. “Ethan, since you’re Native and FBI wouldn’t that cancel it out?”

Blackhawk kissed her on the forehead and watched the boy with murderous intent.

Now the kid looked scared shitless that it wasn’t over yet.

Ethan Blackhawk took the boy by the arm and pulled him towards the tape line.

“By the way, Ethan, granddad is out there, and he looks very serious. I handled the punk, you get Timothy,” Elizabeth yelled after him, as she stepped out of the clean suit.

“Come on, Joshua.” Ethan Blackhawk leaned down and whispered in the boy’s ear. “You should head back to the people you just stirred up, and you can tell them how th
e FBI is uncovering the remains and not covering them up.”

“Yes sir. I’m sorry,” he muttered.

Blackhawk continued, “If you ever come near my wife and throw anything at her, they won’t find you until you look like those women. I grew up on this Rez, and trust me when I say I know all the really good hiding spots. Am I clear, Joshua?”

“Yes sir.” He ran under the tape and scurried away from the area.

Elizabeth watched him bolt. “What did you just tell him?” she asked suspiciously.

“Nothing, just told him to have a nice day,” he answered, holding up the tape for Timothy Blackhawk to walk under.

“Uh, right.” Elizabeth went to the older man and hugged and kissed him. He held her close to his body, and she noticed it seemed to calm down the Natives.

“What did you do to him?
He seemed terrified.”

“I showed him some brains and a bunch of bodies,” she answered, shrugging. “I just manned him up from ‘loud-mouthed boy’ to ‘going to have nightmares for a month’ boy.
Welcome to our world.”

He put his arm around her shoulders in a sign of solidarity. “Good for you, Elizabeth. I was at council and word came back that one of our deputies was killed and then all this, so I am guessing you found more bodies.”

“Yeah, we found ten more women and a fetus for each one.”

“
Sweetheart you should go home. You don’t look well at all,” he said, touching a pale cheek. “I’m worried about you and my great grandson you are carrying.”

Blackhawk waited for the explosion to come, as his grandfather dared to suggest that she go back to FBI West. When it never came, he stared openmouthed, as his wife smiled and helped Timothy sit in the back of the FBI van.

“I think it’s just my blood sugar,” she said, patting his cheek. “I’ll be okay, Granddad. Baby Blackhawk is of sturdy stock.”

Timothy Blackhawk reached into his pocket and pulled out a ha
ndful of wrapped candies. “Here sweetheart, eat these.” He dropped them into her hand and lovingly kissed her on the forehead.

“I’m sorry,” he
r husband said in amazement. “How does he get to tell you to go home and still has skin left on his ass, but I say it and you go nuclear?” he asked, looking back and forth between his wife and grandfather.

“He followed up with candy. You catch more flies with honey than vinegar,
Cowboy,” she said popping a candy in her mouth. “Mmmmmm. Butterscotch, my favorite!”

Blackhawk shook his head and then
continued. “It’s bad granddad.”

“How did the deputy get caught in this?”

“I think he was passing by and saw the killer heading into the woods or coming back, and he stopped. He didn’t fight, so he wasn’t feeling threatened. He may have even recognized the killer from somewhere.”

“This is looking more and more like he’s part of our community, Ethan,” said Timothy. He looked at the tribe standing outside the tape. “If he
’s one of them, then this is going to explode. When you find him, if it is on our land, get him off fast or there will be no outsider justice.”

“Yes,
Granddad.”

Elizabeth helped the man stand. “Let me get one of my crew to transport you home,” she said, holding his hand.

“I have a ride, Granddaughter.”

“Yeah, I’m aware, but I know who isn’t
a killer on this scene. Ethan and I would feel better if you’d let us have you transported.”

He patted her cheek. “So you do not worry
, I’ll accept.”

“Hey, know what would make me feel even better?” she said
. “Come stay at our house until this is over.”

Now he laughed. “Elizabeth
, my little protective raven, you do not need to worry about the bear too. He is prepared for what comes.” Timothy kissed her cheek and patted his grandson’s cheek, as he walked to her Denali.

Elizabeth whistled
and a tech ran over. “Ma’am?”

“See the sweet older man getting into my vehicle? Resembles Director Blackhawk, but older with white hair?” she pointed and watched him nod. “I want you to drive him home, help him in, and
assure he locks the door behind him. Drive him carefully. He’s our grandfather, and if Blackhawk here doesn’t kick your ass for jostling him, I will. Clear?”

“Yes ma’am,” he
nodded, grabbing the keys and running off to help Timothy get into the car.

“See
Ethan? The fear of being beat down by a smaller woman is motivating.”

Blackhawk laughed. He was pretty sure it had nothing to do with the size of the woman, and more just the woman in general.

It took eight long hours to clear the scene. The bodies were loaded, the remains marked and shipped and all the techs present and accounted for before departure. Wrapping it up for the night and heading back to FBI West was a welcomed event. There was still the autopsy to perform on the deputy, but at least in house they knew no one was going to get shot.

They dropped their things off in their offices, and Elizabeth did something she never did before. She took off her beloved boots, removed her socks, and slipped on flip flops. Yeah, she knew she was going into autopsy with open shoes, and she figured she’d sit on the table or let her husband give her a piggy back ride out. She wasn’t suffering in the boots any longer. If pregnancy was going to ruin her love of her shoes, she was going to be cranky and bitchy for the next eight months.

She met her husband in the lobby and took his hand.
Since there was no one around at that time of the night, she didn’t see the harm of it. “Why are you staring at me,” she asked on the way down in the elevator.

“You're shorter, you're in flip flops
, and I just happen to think your toenail polish is sexy,” he answered, putting his arm around her shoulders. “I happen to get excited by pink.”

“Hey, you know the touchy-feely and kissy-face rules.”

“No, the first is a new one, so I’m blissfully unaware, and I’m actually just holding you up, so you don’t fall over,” he said daring her to continue. “Where’s my brother?” he asked, as the elevator opened and his question was answered.

Whitefox stood against the wall holding coffee for all three of them.

“Hello, Callen. Speak of the devil.”

“Before either of you tell me not to do this, what would you do in my place?”

“Watch the autopsy,” they both answered, at the same time, being honest. They probably would.

He nodded, handing his brother coffee and Elizabeth tea.

She would have protested, except she was feeling shaky enough and was glad it was decaffeinated tea. “Let’s get this over with, because we have a long day tomorrow, and we all need some sack time.”

The three walked into autopsy, and Doctor Leonard was just gloving up. He too had coffee; obviously Whitefox had been in there already to see his deputy and say his final goodbyes before it began.

“Ready guys?” he asked, and then stared intently at Elizabeth. His face changed into one of concern. “Come here.”

“What,” she said, walking over to him, and he pulled off a glove and touched her forehead. “You feel a bit warm.”

“I’m fine.”

“You're pale. Y
our lips aren’t pink, plus you’re in flip flops. Are you dizzy?”

“She was earlier,” offered up Blackhawk to the ME
. Now he was worried about his wife and child again.

Elizabeth
glared at him, and she was going to have to talk to him about the rules of marriage and discussing private things with people they weren’t shacked up with.

“Are you pregnant?” he asked, checking her pulse.

“What?” She was caught off guard and didn’t know what to say. “Why would you ask me that?”

W
as it that obvious to everyone looking at her?

“You're drinking tea
, not coffee and you have the symptoms of anemia. I know for a fact from past experience you eat plenty of red meat. I’ve seen cattle stampede to escape you.”

Now Blackhawk looked panicked. “Is she going to be okay? Do I need to take her to a doctor?”

“Director Blackhawk, believe it or not, I am a doctor. That’s why I get the cushy digs and the awesome benefits. All your wife needs to do is get some blood work, change her diet, and pop some vitamin C and a prenatal,” he answered, as he re-gloved up.