Slay Bells Ring (An FBI Romance Thriller Book 12) (37 page)

“No.”

“Why?”

“This is a quiet town. I figured she forgot to call in. So I left her a voicemail.”

She wanted to roll her eyes in the worst way.

Yeah, it made perfect sense. A woman goes missing while they have a serial killer, and no one think it’s more than a mere coincidence.

Really?

Elizabeth needed to let it go. Sometimes, crazy was out of your hands, and you couldn’t redirect it.

This was one of those times.

“Did the mayor’s wife touch the boxes?”

“No.”

She looked around her room. “Get your parkas on, team. We’re heading out to retrieve some heads. Make room in the cooler, Chris. Bonnie and Clyde have likely left us a present.”

He motioned to his team.

Immediately, they began getting ready to go.

“Sheriff, we want you to ride with us,” she said, motioning to her partners. She wasn’t done questioning him, and hopefully, in a not so public setting, he’d spill everything.

Outside, they piled in.

When they were pulling out, Ethan behind the wheel, Elizabeth began her interrogation. “Okay, tell me everything you know about the mayor and your deputy.”

“That they aren’t a couple. She’d never do that. Lina was a good girl. She’d never mess around with a married man. That wasn’t how she behaved.”

“Uh huh. So has she been on the force for long?”

He shook his head. “No, not at all. She started last year. The mayor recommended…”

Then he stopped, realizing he’d made his own connection.

“Oh shit on a shingle! The mayor was the one who pushed her application through.”

“I bet that would be enough to make some crazy go over the edge. Now, why would he do that?”

He didn't have an answer.

Well, she had one, but he wouldn’t like the implications. If Lina was sleeping with the mayor, or his spy, she’d been lying and being sneaky.

Well, shit!

“It’s right down this street,” he said, pointing to the left.

Ethan followed his instructions. When they pulled into the parking lot, Elizabeth pointed toward the entourage following them.

“You need to get your men to hold back the media. They’re like vultures.”

He got it.

As he went his way, they went theirs. The second they stepped on to the porch, the door opened, revealing a tiny woman. “Mrs. Boone, I’m Director Elizabeth Blackhawk. We got your call. We want you to head back inside with these two US Marshals. They’re going to start asking you some questions.”

She nodded. “Okay. I can do that. I’m really freaked out. I tried calling my husband, but I can’t reach him.”

Yeah, she suspected why. They’d know in a few seconds if they were right.

When the woman was back inside the house, Elizabeth whistled, and her team approached. “Here you go, Doc. Make it count.”

He began unwrapping the presents. “It’s the same paper and ribbon. The killers definitely did this.”

Well, at least they didn't have a copycat.

That would suck big time.

As Chris took the lid off one box, they saw the man’s head inside. Callen had the mayor’s driver’s license picture up and ready.

“It’s him,” Chris stated, doing the visual.

Tony agreed. “You can tell by the prominent mandibular arch. I concur with Chris on this one.”

Well, that was good enough for her.

They had the mayor in pieces, somewhere. This was going to put the entire town in a tizzy. This made it harder for them to do their jobs.

“Second box,” Chris said, pulling off the paper and ribbon. Immediately, Merry bagged it.

“When they lifted the lid, they didn't need to do a facial match. The sheriff, who was watching over their shoulders, began puking not far off in the snow. Apparently, he was doing the ID for them. This was going to be his deputy.

“I think that says it all.”

They didn't disagree.

Elizabeth pulled on a pair of latex gloves before glancing over at the heaving man.

“Well, I guess it’s safe to assume that our deputy here did, in fact, know the mayor. You don’t generally end up dead in a box unless you’re messin’ with something ugly.”

There was so much truth in that.

“Well?” Chris offered, standing and pulling off his gloves.

“Let’s do our damn jobs. The body count is adding up, and that pisses me off.”

The team got to work.

Time was ticking away too fast.

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

Morgue

While sitting in the office outside the morgue, Brody and Johanna were ignoring the calls coming in from Levi Seaton, and his new wife. Neither wanted to be dealing with the couple, or anything they had to say.

To them, the line had been crossed.

Both parents had put themselves ahead of their kids’ well-being one too many times, and this was the most egregious act of all.

What they really wanted to do was be out in the field. It sucked to be chained to a desk as someone’s paperwork monkey, but they knew better than to bitch and moan.

They were both earning their stripes in the FBI, and this was the sure fire way to be asked out on more cases.

They needed to impress the bosses.

It wouldn’t be easy, but they had an advantage that other agents didn't.

They had the boss in their corner.

“Did you find anything on Salvatore Boone?” Brody asked.

“Just the basics,” Johanna replied. “He was re-elected last term, he’s got no dirt in his past, and he appears to be happily married.”

She showed him all the pictures of the man with his wife while campaigning.

They indeed looked like a happy couple.

Then again, politicians could be great actors. They’d run into a few mayors who played the role well.

“What about his financials?” Johanna asked.

Brody turned his tablet so they could both stare at the screen.

“I found this one debit that’s curious. It’s made the first of every month, and goes to the same account. The amount never changes.”

“Who’s it to?”

“A property company.”

“Is it his mortgage or rent for his home?”

Brody shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

“Does he and the little woman have separate accounts?” Johanna asked.

“Yep.”

“There’s sign number one,” she offered. “When your hubby wants a separate account, be afraid.”

He grinned. “So we’ll be going joint?”

“You better believe it.”

He leaned over to give her a kiss. “I don’t mind sticking my paycheck in your account.”

Johanna paused.

Brody was grinning wickedly.

“You’re such a pervert. You didn't even try to clean that one up.”

He snorted. “I can’t help it. You bring it out in me. You’re a tease. How about you kiss me and make me pay for my boldness?”

Instead, she punched him. “Back to work.”

He rubbed his ribs. “Yes, ma’am.”

“How about we call and ask the management company a few questions?” Johanna suggested. “We might get something.”

Then again, they might get squat.

“You should do the call,” she offered. “There’s not a woman in the area who can turn you down.”

He grinned.

Yeah, that smile melted her defenses.

Dialing the number, she handed the phone to Brody. The second he began talking, she was mesmerized. If he could bottle that charm, they could both retire.

It was incredibly sexy.

And worrisome.

She watched and waited. As he worked his magic, dropping ‘sweetheart’, ‘honey’, and even a ‘sugar’ or three, Johanna gave him the look.

He winked at her.

As soon as he was off the phone, she reconfirmed her previous statement. “Joint account it is. You’re a menace.”

He laughed. “I’d never cheat on you. I know how lucky I am. Besides, any time away from you hurts. It would kill me. I’ve found my other half.”

He leaned over and kissed her. As his warm lips moved over hers, she let the heat pull her under.

Then, as quickly as it started, it was gone.

Brody was laughing. “God, I love you.”

Johanna blinked, trying to clear the male induced fog.

“What did you find out?”

“It’s a rental. That money is an automatic payment on it. She gave me the address.”

Johanna ran a reverse search, going with the address in the DMV. When a picture popped, she showed it to Brody.

“There’s our tenant.”

“Deputy Lina Dotson?” Brody asked. “So, he was paying her rent? She isn't related, so that means…”

“It means he had some action on the side, and the fact that he was dropping that much money each month on her, it was a piece of tail he liked to visit a lot.”

He agreed.

A man didn't pay your rent unless you were someone very special to him. A mistress was a powerful thing, and as a politician, he likely didn't want to get caught.

“We should tell the boss lady. She’ll want to know all of this.”

She agreed.

Picking up the phone, Johanna Madden made the call.

The plot was getting thicker.

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

Friday Morning

Inside the mayor’s home, they had one freaked out woman. While they didn't come right out and tell Veronica that her husband’s head was in the box, she put two and two together all on her own.

Then after her agents called, Elizabeth’s suspicions were indeed valid. Despite what the sheriff initially believed, his deputy was that kind of girl.

She was playing well-kept mistress.

There was no doubt to any of them why Bonnie and Clyde picked them. They had a married man getting his sauce on the side.

It was never a good thing for a marriage, but it was even more dangerous if you were living where serial killers hunted.

As she strolled through the house, she noticed it wasn’t anything spectacular. Yes, it was nice, but for someone in politics, he could have gone grander.

Then again, he was paying for his mistress to have a secret pad where he could stop for some nookie. That might have made the bankroll a little tighter.

From the walk through, she could see that there was no blood, no sign of rape, and no destruction in the home. That meant that the killers didn't do the deed at this love nest.

She had the address for the deputy in her phone, and later, they’d be heading there.

It was likely ground zero for the action.

As Merry swept the kitchen with a black and UV light, she, too, came up empty.

The shake of her head told the tale.

Yeah, it was official.

They were wasting their time there.

Elizabeth gave the order for the techs to get ready to leave. The address wasn’t too far away. Apparently, Salvatore liked to keep his mistress close by.

What a jackwagon.

It was hard to sympathize with a fornicator when a serial killer hunted you for that reason.

As she stood there, her husband approached.

“You look perplexed.”

“I am. Since they’re watchers, why didn't they use this place?” she asked. “They would have had time.”

He thought about it. “Bonnie and Clyde might have found it easier to head to the other place.”

Elizabeth didn't like any of this case. It was making her head spin.

“We need to get over there.”

“I think we should leave Dakota and his partner here.”

She stared at him. “Did he say something to piss you off? I’ll whip his ass back to the East coast.”

Blackhawk laughed. “No, he didn't. I just think that we need to really interview Veronica Boone, and he’s built a rapport with her.”