Oracle Seeing (The Phoenix Files Book 2) (17 page)

His eye flickered over toward Bishop at her admission.

He’d made a horrible mistake. He wasn’t wearing his eye patch. She was staring right at him. She was face to face—literally—with the raw truth.

“Please leave, Sheriff Killion.”

“No, Lucian. First, it’s Bishop. That’s my name. It’s who I am. The problem is that when you got angry with me, calling me names and cursing me out, I did go. I walked away, and I shouldn’t have.”

“I was ugly. I’m a monster. That’s why you left,” he whispered, trying to get her to believe his words and to see the truth.

It wasn’t working.

“That’s not why I left, Lucian, and after ten years, you deserve the truth. Hell! I tried to tell you for the following two years, but you wouldn’t see me. I didn’t leave because I thought you were a monster. I left because I let you get hurt. What you didn’t hear when you were in that coma was that I promised to protect you. I gave you my word, and I was ashamed. I failed. She hurt you, and I didn’t stop it. I didn’t know how to stop it.”

He tried to move away.

She was so close to him.

Too close.

Her body was inches from his. He was afraid of what she’d do—more importantly, what he’d do.

“I left so I couldn’t hurt you anymore. Now I realize I did what I didn’t want to do. I left you alone, and it’s made you…”

“A monster.”

She reached up and turned his chin so he’d have to stare at her. So he’d have to let her see what time had done to him, and what the years had remade his life in to.

He was shaking.

She was touching his face.

He hated people touching him.

God!

This was his hell. Bishop saw it all. He waited for the revulsion. It never came.

“It’s made you hate the world. I’m so sorry. I want to go back and fix it. I want to heal you, but I can’t if you don’t meet me halfway. We need each other. I need you to solve these murders, and you need me to come back out into life again.”

“I can’t. I’m…”

“Handsome.”

He didn’t believe it.

“I want to stare at you for hours, and not because you have a little scar.”

“You’re naïve or blind if you can look at me and not see the truth.”

“I’m neither. What I really am is someone who fell in love with you ten years ago, and I tried to fix my mistake. I came here for two years, begging you to let me in, and you still hate me. So, I’m going to do something I should have done.”

He didn’t understand.

She went up on her toes and kissed him on the scarred cheek. It was a light brush of lips, and she hoped it helped him heal.

“I’m sorry I hurt you. I hope that one day you’ll forgive me. I hope one day, when you see me, and how hard I’m trying to reach you, that you’ll reach back.”

She set him free and crossed the room.

He didn’t know what the hell to say to any of that. It was clear she wasn’t going to give up.

His heart thundered in his chest. He couldn’t believe that she’d just…kissed him.

On his face.

On top of the hideous scar.

What the hell?

At the door, she stopped. “You’ll have to make the next move, Lucian. I won’t force you. I’ve damaged you enough. I trust you to make the right decision. I know how much is resting on it. If you can’t be near me, I get it. I’ll do it alone. I’ll get justice, and I’ll keep you safe. I dropped your heart once. I won’t do it again.”

He watched her.

As she opened the door, he wanted to say something, anything.

“You know where to find me, and for the record, you’re not ugly. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and to me, you’re still handsome—sexy even. You remind me of a pirate.”

There it was again.

“What woman doesn’t like a pirate who’s out there trying to save the world?”

He stared at her, openmouthed.

“Bishop.”

“I hope I see you again. If not, I understand. I’m sorry I let her hurt you. I won’t ever let it happen again.”

With that, she closed the door and was gone.

Lucian took a seat and touched the place on his face where her lips had left that soft kiss. It was warm.

It was soothing.

Lucian felt like the world’s biggest asshole. She actually believed that she’d hurt him all those years ago. Bishop believed she’d let him down when it was the furthest from the truth.

Shit!

He really felt horrible now.

What was it about this woman that he couldn’t keep her from wiggling her way into his life? For eight years, he’d avoided her, and one would think that she’d just move on.

No.

Of course she didn’t.

Now he was faced with something even more difficult.

He had a choice to make.

She was right.

Lucian had to decide if he was ready to come out of hiding, or if he was still too afraid to risk his heart.

Again.

Chapter Seven

Sheriff’s station

Thursday eight A.M

When they arrived, she was very disappointed. A part of her had hoped that Lucian would leave the house on the hill and move back into life.

Apparently, that was a big no. He’d made his choice, and now she had to deal with the outcome. It looked like she was battling this one without him.

As the two Feds rolled in, she leaned back in her chair. It was going to be interesting to see how this all played out.

“Hello.”

“Sheriff, can we talk?”

She pointed at the chairs. “Coffee?”

They both declined.

“What is it that I can do for you?” she asked.

“We’re here to help.”

She stared at them. Finally, she broke her silence. “Okay. I was thinking that we should head down to visit my coroner. She’s been elbow deep in autopsies all night long. After that fun, we can head out to the interviews. Normally, I work alone, but I don’t care if you two join me. Misery loves company.”

“You’re being awful magnanimous.”

“Ohhh, big word from the Fed. I actually am, and you can thank Avalon. She was honest and I like her. She saved your bacon.”

He was going to kiss his girl when he got back to the estate. “I appreciate it, Sheriff.”

As she stood, she couldn’t hold out any longer. “Can I ask you something cop to cop?”

That had their attention.

“Sure.”

“How’s Lucian?”

Nate knew what was going on. When he’d cornered Avalon about turning off her com, she told him why. He got it. That was a private conversation, and he respected that. There was no way he’d want his private business plastered all over the place.

“We didn’t see him. He’s holed up in his room. We came in after the body and he didn’t make an appearance.”

“Oh.”

She didn’t like that at all.

Honestly, Bishop hoped she hadn’t forced him into a deeper funk. She’d crossed the line, but she was going with her gut on this one—and Avalon’s advice. It had to work.

“Oh, and I’m sorry about what I gave to Avalon.”

Nate looked confused. “What did you give to her?”

“Apparently, the Marine didn’t want me giving her coffee. How was I supposed to know she’d wig out?”

Nate laughed.

The coffee thing only bothered Maura, so he explained. “When Avalon gets caffeine, she becomes boisterous. She asks a lot of personal questions, bounces around, and that makes Maura nervous. No one minds but her. It freaks her out.”

“So coffee it is.”

Luke laughed. “Great. Make my life hell.”

“Hey, a girl has to have some fun.”

Grabbing her baseball cap, she dropped it on and pulled her ponytail through the back. “Shall we?” she asked.

They followed her out.

It was time to get some details and interview time in. They had a case, and it wasn’t going to work itself.

For all they knew, the killer was going to drop a body a day. If that were the case, they had one hell of a problem.

Time wouldn’t be on their side.

       
                
* * *
  O R A C L E   * * *

Morgue

When they arrived, Roxy was working on some paperwork and finishing up with the last victim. Attorney Dale Plunkett was in a bag and on his way to the cooler.

Not far from the brunette was Jagger, and as always, he was in the corner watching everything.

By everything, that meant her.

He was so myopically focused on her that he tracked each and every move. Nate and Luke knew that look. They’d had it a few times themselves, mostly when Avalon and Maura were concerned.

The man was still on the hunt.

“Hey, Roxy! Make my day.”

She glanced up and over her glasses. “Well, how’s the prettiest sheriff this side of the Mason Dixon?”

“Bitchy. What do you have?”

“Well, on today’s menu, we have torture with a side of torture. It looks like Dale and Arron both had a run in with the same tools, the same methods, and the same crazy.”

Yeah, from what they saw, that was damn apparent. The killer was insane in the membrane.

“I almost hate asking this, but I know I need to know. Were they alive at the time?”

“Yes, and for the entire thing. I couldn’t find one wound on their bodies that had happened post death. The killer made small injuries, enough to hurt, but not enough to kill.”

Bishop thought back to the severed ears.

That was small?

Holy hell!

That sucked for Dale.

“What’s COD?”

She flipped the papers around and passed them to her best friend. “I’m calling it exsanguination. They bled out.”

Nate made an observation. “The crime scenes didn’t have a lot of blood.”

“Nope, so that means you don’t have the location they were killed, and it wouldn’t fit the time line,” Roxy offered. “The way they died would be a slow bleed. We’re talking hours—not minutes. If the killer strung Dale up, and then tortured him on the gate, someone would have driven by, and they would have noticed.”

“Very good point,” Luke stated.

“Thanks. That’s why they pay me the big bucks,” she stated. “It’s how I keep myself in shoes.”

Bishop laughed. “Rox, you keep yourself in trust fund shoes. That’s the big difference between you and the rest of us having to work for it.”

She supposed it was.

Then again, her life had been hard. She deserved the pretty things she surrounded herself with on a daily basis.

“A girl’s got to eat. That’s how you got me so damn cheap. Count your blessings and stop being a bitch.”

She blew her best friend a kiss. “What else?”

“Nothing.”

They all looked at her.

“Seriously. This is Ravenswood. We have a team, but we contract out all of our lab findings. I still haven’t shipped out all the samples from the judge. If you want fast, start praying to the DNA gods because I can’t make miracles.”

Nate could.

“I can have it expedited to an FBI lab, and it’ll be safely tested, processed, and all in one day.”

“I’ll kiss you if you can make that happen. If you can get these couriered, even better.”

“I’ll pass on the kiss, but Jagger will be more than happy to help you. He’s free for the afternoon. There’s an FBI facility twenty minutes away. He’ll be more than happy to help out, won’t you, Jagger?”

“Sure.”

She smiled over at the man. “Thank you, Marine.”

“FBI,” he stated, patting his badge. It was bullshit, but no one needed to know that.

“Your haircut says otherwise.”

“Yeah, she’s dated a few ex-soldiers. She can spot them a mile away. Then they learn to spot her, and they stay away.”

She flipped off her bestie.

Both women laughed.

It was clear they had a great working relationship. That made Jagger even more curious.

“Anyway, if you can get this handled, I can work through the information as it comes in and be ready for the next victim.”

Jagger was watching her.

She was fascinating.

She cursed like a sailor, looked like a sexy school marm in her glasses, and she was standing in an autopsy suite in a skirt and heels. He was having a damn hard time pinning this one down.

Doctor Roxanne Faust was an enigma.

She was making him crazy.

“It’s the least we can do, Doctor.”

As Bishop was about to get the show on the road, the morgue doors opened, and in strolled everyone’s favorite mayor.

Literally
.

No one disliked Silas.

“Hey, Granddad! Are you here for coffee?” asked Roxy, coming around the table to greet the man.

“No, sweetheart. It’s work related.”

“Too bad. Maybe later. All work and no play makes Silas Reed a dull boy.”

She did the introductions.

“This is Director Nathaniel Carter and his partner Lucas Mars, and the gentleman in the corner is another Fed, Jagger Armstrong.”

The man shook everyone’s hands.

“Thank you so much for coming here to help. I just heard about the next victim, and I’m sick about it.”

Yeah, well he should be.

This was a hot mess. 

“Do we know who we have?” he asked, moving closer to the open bag.

As soon as he saw the mangled pile of human, he looked less enthusiastic about being down there.

“Jesus! That’s gross.”

“I have his ID done. Thanks to some information and his dentals, I can give him a name.”

The team already knew, but no one was mentioning how. They were keeping it to themselves.

“Who is it?”

“It’s Dale Plunkett.”

The man looked horrified. “So we have a judge, a defense attorney, and the locations they were dumped were the courthouse and Lucian Monroe’s home?”

“Yep.”

“This is bad.”

“How did you know it was Lucian’s?” asked Bishop. She didn’t update the mayor yet. That was on her list, but near the bottom. In fact, they’d blocked off the media a decent way from Lucian’s home. It shouldn’t be out there quite yet.

She should have time.

“I read the paper.”

“Oh, come on! They’ve been dead hours.”

“Well, the media is all over it. Better yet, want to guess who is breathing down your neck?”

The Feds were curious.

Roxy and Bishop were not.

They knew who it would be. If there was one pain in Bishop’s life, they could pick her out of a crowd.

“Wendy Lockwood?” they asked together.

“Yep.”

He handed the sheriff the newspaper article he’d tucked into his back pocket. “This was my morning wakeup call.”

She read over the headline.

Then she wanted to punch someone in the silicone-laden face.

Over and over again.

This reporter was the world’s biggest pain in the ass, and no one could get away from her.

“What’s it say?” Nate asked.

She handed it to him.

   
 
‘Lucian Monroe is a suspect in two homicides.’

Luke whistled.

Talk about really inconvenient.

“Does he have anything to do with this?” Silas asked, staring at the sheriff.

“Not a single thing,” Bishop offered, taking Lucian’s side. She made a vow. She’d keep him safe, and this was important. “He’s being screwed with, and we don’t know why.”

The older man glanced over at the Feds. “Do you agree?”

“
HEY
!” she objected. “I’m the sheriff here. This isn’t like some doctor appointment where you need a second opinion. This is my day job.”

Silas patted her on the cheek—much like he’d do with a child. “Well, if we’re getting help, we might as well use it,” he offered. “They are the FBI.”

“You
ARE
an old man.”

He winked at her. “I could put you over my knee still. You watch your manners, Bish.”

“Blah blah.”

“Well?” he asked.

“He’s in the clear. We were with him when the killer was stringing up the body on the gate. We’re his alibi.”

Okay, that wasn’t a hundred percent true, but Avalon was their gauge on this, and she said the man was safe. They were going with it.

“Well, then someone better get Wendy off his ass. She’s like a pit bull on a fat lady’s leg. You don’t want her sinking her teeth into this one.”

Oh, she was aware.

“I’ll handle it.”

Luke was curious. “Why is she targeting him?”

Everyone in the room got quiet. This was a touchy subject for Lucian.

Finally, the mayor went there.

“When he was nearly killed, he was engaged to her. She was an up and coming journalist…”

Bishop cut him off. “You mean gold digger who should have her fake teeth knocked into her empty head.”