Consumed by Wrath: An FBI/Romance Thriller (An FBI/Romance Thriller ~ Book 8) (25 page)

“Boss lady, how the hell are you?” he said, coming around the desk to greet her warmly. The hug was exuberant and friendly, and for that she was glad, especially since he had to know that they rolled into town already.

“I’m great, Chris. It’s good to see you. You’re now running the whole circus, huh?”

He laughed. “Yeah. Once you left, I couldn’t take the job anymore. I was over it.
I couldn’t see myself dealing with that shit every day. I see why you ran for the hills.”

That made her laugh. “Yeah, the FBI is ten million times worse
. On the other side of the hill was a pit of quicksand,” she replied. Deep down, she understood why Chris Santana walked away. They had to bury a friend, and it all seemed so damn senseless.

“Well, Mayor, I’m damn proud of you!”

He motioned to the chairs. “Thank you, Elizabeth,” he said, grinning. “I remember Ethan. How are you?” he asked.

“I’m great Chris. It’s good seeing you again.”

Elizabeth pointed at Callen. “He’s my partner, and Ethan’s brother,” she added.

“Yeah, Martha
warned me that you’re shacking up with two men. I’d like to say that I’m surprised, but I’m not. You get bonus points for it being brothers, though. I wouldn’t have seen that one coming.”

The men laughed.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “I’m not going to bust your balls, just because I need to play nice with the locals, but as soon as this is over, payback is a bitch.”

Chris grinned. There was his old boss in all her glory. He actually missed her.

Go figure.

“No, it seems that a little birdy has told me that you’re here because of Doc going missing.”

“Birdy huh? Martha still has a big mouth,” she said, but wasn’t surprised. How long did they
really expect to keep it quiet? Doc was like an icon in the town. People were bound to figure it out and start talking.

It was going to get ugly.

“Yeah she certainly does, but this time it wasn’t her. I actually got a call from Tony that you found more remains today.”

She nodded.

“And that you called in your whole team to handle it.”

Again, she just nodded.

“I do believe that proper protocol says that you ask the entity in charge of the town and get their approval first. Technically, our sheriff’s department is equipped to run it. The council made sure of it, after you left.”

This was a dance she’d done many, many times
and she wasn’t really surprised that it was once again time to strap on the tap shoes.

“Yeah,
well do you have a spare ME lying around to do any exams that come up?”

“No.”

“How about a resident anthropologist who has been praised in the bone journals, quite a few times, for exemplary findings?”

“No
t the last time that I looked.”

“Do you have a sheriff that can detect his way out of a brown paper bag? I have to say, Chris, as much as I love Tony, he’s not cut out for leadership.”

The man leaned back in his chair. “You make a very valid point, but you still have to pack up and leave.”

She stared at him
and tapped her fingers on her crossed arms.

He burst into laughter
, knowing that she wasn’t going to fall for it. “I never could pull one over on you, boss lady. I’m glad you’re here. I hope that you find Doc and wrap this up. As far as I’m concerned, you have my support in this matter, and I’ll pass that on to anyone on the council.”

Both men relaxed beside her.

“What can I do to help?” he asked.

“I need leeway to do this my way. If you had a competent investigator, I would play nice, but let’s face it. Tony is more or less a figure head.”

“Agreed, but just stay off his toes and try not to burn the damn town down in the process.”

Callen couldn’t help it. He began to laugh.

When everyone looked at him, he wasn’t the least bit apologetic. “What? Like there’s a snowball’s chance in hell of Lyzee playing nice with the locals. We’ve all seen her in action. If anyone here believes that there won’t be an altercation, I have a lake to sell you in the middle of the Sahara. It comes with a yacht.”

Chris had seen her in action many times
and that was exactly why he warned her. “As mayor, I’m going to ask you to leave the town standing. Can we at least go with that option then?”

She
pushed up from her chair and offered him her hand. “I can’t make that promise, but because we go way back, I’ll try.”

He held out his hand
and shook hers. “Thank you, Elizabeth. I appreciate you handling this while you’re on vacation.”

“It’s the least I can do. I love Doc, and Salem is still a part of me.”

“Be safe, boss. If you need anything, call me.”

They headed out of the office and took a business card from the woman at the desk
and left theirs. Outside, Ethan dropped his sunglasses on his face. “Well, that was nothing like the last time we were in that office.”

“Hell yeah. I didn't get to chew anyone up. I’m a little disappointed.
That was the highlight planned for my day.”

Callen shook his head. “I wouldn’t worry. You’re forgetting one thing.”

She glanced over. “What?”

“You still have to talk to Tony. I’m b
etting he says something stupid and you get your opportunity.”

Elizabeth worked with him a whole year. She knew better than to even go there. That was one bet she knew that she would lose.

Tony and jackassery went hand in hand.

                                *   *   *

Once inside the sheriff’s station, Elizabeth began doing what she did best.

Taking control
and running things for the FBI.

Both men had to admit that i
t was one of the best things about being her field partner. If you didn't mind the paperwork, then you could pretty much let her lead the charge, and handle the people in your way.

One of those people
in question was going to be the sheriff.

It was obvious to see that
Elizabeth had affection for the man, since she didn't storm the castle and slay the dragon. Instead, she told him what they needed and didn't give him a way to not hand it over.

Standing in front of Tony, she
worked on getting him to concede to her demands. They had to have a conference room, and she needed to run this her way.

Tony was more than
willing to give up the space, but the last demand nearly started an argument.

“I
’ve already talked to your boss, Tony. He’s cleared it for me. I’m running this dog and pony show. I need you to just let me take care of business. I’ve done this enough to be able to do it in my sleep.”

He walked over to his office door and gave it a slam.

That was the first sign that something bad was starting to brew between them. “I get the feeling that you really believe that I’m incompetent. I’ll have you know that I worked under you and learned a great deal.”

Blackhawk and Whitefox stared at each other. Obviously, the man didn't learn enough. He just asked the devil to dinner, and he was on the menu.

Elizabeth contemplated his words and took everything that he had just said as an open invitation.

“Here we go,” muttered Ethan. Both men took a seat out of the way. Here was the chewing up part, and they had a front row seat.

“You did work under me, but for the life of me, I don’t recall calendars with half naked women, light up beach balls, or sports magazines. Last time I looked, when I called this home, it was about working. This looks like a bachelor pad that spun out of control.”

He glared at her. “Not everyone works the way you do. Maybe this environment is more conducive to my productivity.”

She shook her head. “Okay, maybe it is. Where’s the ME report that you’re supposed to get copies of on Fridays for review? You know, the ones that assure that the medical examiner’s office and sheriff’s department are on the same page, if something were to go to trial? Or was that some pesky little detail you didn't care to worry about?” Elizabeth was betting he didn't even bother.

“I told Doc to only send the ones that needed investigation
from our end. I’m cutting down on paper waste. See? I’m saving the environment.”

She pointed at the computer
on the desk. “They were never on paper, Tony. Doc emailed them. I printed them out if I needed them.”

He glared at her. “What’s your point?”

“Simply that you’re not capable of running this investigation. You picked up keys off the ground with your bare hands. You didn't notice a back windshield that was busted in. Maybe, had you been focused on your damn job, you would have noticed last night that Doc was gone. That cost valuable time, and in our line of work, time isn’t money but possibly a life.”

That pissed him off enough that he actually lunged for her. Fortunately for him, Ethan
was up and grabbed him, because Elizabeth would have kicked his balls up into his throat and schooled him for touching a woman.

“Plus
, now you almost assaulted a Fed.”

Ethan hissed in his ear. “Cool it
, son. If you put your hands on my pregnant wife, I will make sure you’re in that river too.”

Callen stood glaring at the man. He prayed that he’d do something stupid
, because now Tony had just ventured into their area.

Enforcement.

When Tony was reminded that she was expecting a child, he immediately calmed down. “I get it, Elizabeth. I’m not you, but I’m good at my job. I say hello to everyone. I know their names, and I’m the face of this department, just like your father was.”

Oh no, he didn't just throw down the deceased father card, did he?
If the man even thought that comparing himself to Charlie LaRue was a good idea, he was out of his damn mind.

Both men cringed at what was coming.

“You’re saying that you’re running this place exactly like my father did?” she reiterated.

“Yeah, he was a people person. Maybe you just weren’t. Let’s face it, you don’t exactly have a sunny disposition
and people hate your guts.”

She stared down at her boots and began to laugh
.

Whitefox and Blackhawk had heard that tone in her voice before, and she wasn’t getting her giggle on.

This was a full blown scary laugh.

Suddenly, the
hilarity stopped, and she lifted her head and stared into his eyes. “Your right, Tony. You are running this office just like Charlie LaRue. He was a great man, who loved the people of this town, but do me a favor if you don’t mind. Fill out your own toe tag and save the ME’s office some time, since we know how his reign here ended.”

No one expected her to throw that one out.

Elizabeth glared at him. If he thought, for one instant, that she wasn’t strong enough to talk about her dead father, or that it would make her back down, he didn't have a freaking clue.

“You're supposed to be the backbone that holds
this place up. I loved my dad, but he wasn’t the best at seeing things coming, or his son and ex-wife wouldn’t have been able to kill him. He got sloppy and complacent and it cost him his life and seeing his grandchildren being born.”

“I do my job!”
he objected.

“
This is a free for all. Wake up, Tony! Doc is missing and you couldn’t look at the dismembered pieces that we pulled up. What if that’s him? Can you walk into the morgue and face that?”

He blanched.

“I can, because I am the job. I’m not here to put you down, but I will run you over if you get in my damn way. I’m going to find Doc, dead or alive, and solve this. When I go home, you need to think if you’re ready for this, if it ever happens again. I’m bailing you out, and I can’t do that anymore. You’re an equal when you wear that badge. Act it.”

He clenched his teeth. “What do you need me to do?”

“I need a list of missing person reports. I’m assuming that you still keep track of them? Hopefully, someone has noticed people are missing and reported it.”

“We don’t have many.”

“You shouldn’t have any. The minute bones showed up, you should have hand delivered them to the ME for comparison. Doc would have used them to check and work on identifying the victims. It’s called interdepartmental cooperation. Would you like me to write it down on a piece of paper for you? Hey, how about I scribble it across the boobs on your girly calendar. You know, so you can remember to look at it every day!”

Tony was turning red.

She handed him a business card. “Email them to me. I also need to get a timeline of Doc’s day. Call his staff and set up appointments tomorrow. If you want the interviews, you can have them. If you don’t think you can pull it off, I’ll put it on my list and take care of it.”