Chapter Three #5
“I’m heading out on a case in Holladay. Ax just assigned me the case. Call my phone if there’s a problem. There will be transport at the airport. It’ll be an FBI jet. Thanks, Lewis. I knew I could trust you with this.”
He didn’t mind.
“Be safe out there, LaRue. You know that those two Russian spies are still wandering around.”
Oh, she knew.
“Thanks for the reminder, Cupcake,” she stated. “I almost forgot,” she added sarcastically. “I’ll talk to you later,” she said, hanging up.
Then, she got into the right frame of mind.
It was time to get her ass moving. She was looking forward to this case.
Eyeballs in skulls on a shelf?
What?
Yeah, that was right up her alley.
Bet.
On.
It.
* * * The Blackhawk Family * * *
The Morgue
Same Time
Making Magic Happen
Oh, Chris had a headache, and there was legitimately one huge reason for it.
Work.
It started like a good day. Chris had slept in, and he’d gotten there not that long ago, but as soon as he walked in the door, he was hit with the magnitude of it.
Everything was a mess.
Files weren’t filed.
Cases were backed up.
And he was done with it.
For two weeks, he was trying to wrangle a new head ME, but Benjamin just wasn’t getting it. He was too laid back, and they needed someone more ‘dedicated’ to the job to be able to hold down the whole lab.
The man wasn’t bossy or able to micromanage all the techs. Instead, his attention span was just not it.
And they were suffering because of it.
Maybe it was a training issue or maybe it was a personality issue, but the man was focused more on having fun at work, and that was going to cause Elizabeth to stroke out.
Big-time.
So Chris had to navigate this.
FAST.
With all his other options eliminated, there was only one left on the table. As a businessman, too, he was going to have to take care of business.
So, he made a call.
It was time to do what he did best.
Negotiate.
Yeah, he was going to negotiate and make that magic grace their lives. Deep down, he believed that they were going to need help.
Serious.
Help.
While being on this side of the country, to support Ethan in his journey, his gut was warning him.
It felt like bad things were going to be heading their way at some point, and he didn’t like that. Chris had been doing this long enough to know when to anticipate trouble.
And his gut was screaming.
When the very familiar voice answered the phone on video call, she was smiling.
“Hey, Doc! Miss me?” Chrissy asked.
It made him laugh.
Oh, if she only knew how much he missed her. Well, she was about to find out.
“Yes, and that’s why I’m calling.”
She lifted a brow.
Uh-oh.
The tone in his voice said it all.
“What happened?”
He laughed, and then told her about the files, the evidence that was all over and misplaced, and how he believed the shit that was about to explode.
“Oh, no,” she said. “Elizabeth is going to stroke out. If she gets called to the stand and there’s a fuckup in the evidence, she’ll get skewered, and your head tech will die a very painful death where he goes missing.”
Oh, he was aware.
Unfortunately for him.
That’s why Chris was trying to circle back and make sure that none of that happened. One bad moment on the stand, where the defense made Elizabeth look incompetent, and the whole case could be thrown out.
And with the people they chased, that was dangerous.
“I know, and that’s why I’m calling you. Check your email—your personal one, not your work one.”
Chrissy was confused, but she did as he asked. As she was reading, she couldn’t believe it.
It was a job offer.
Well, it was a request for her to transfer offices, and if she did, Chris would make sure there was a VERY large payout to her.
In fact, it was a six-figure payout.
It was ridiculous.
“Chris!” she said, reading it twice to make sure she hadn’t misread it the first time.
He was to the point.
“Here’s what I’m willing to do. I will personally pay off your house there, and I will deposit that money into your account.
All I want is for you to switch offices.
You’ll have a house here, and Kane doesn’t have to work, or I will talk to Elizabeth.
If he wants to work for the FBI, I can make that happen.
All it will take is for you to saddle up, and come be her head tech. ”
Holy.
Shit.
Chrissy couldn’t believe that.
“Are you freaking kidding me?” she asked. “You want to give me a million dollars, and pay off our home so I can come work there?”
Well, yeah.
Hadn’t he just said that?
To make sure they were on the same page, he was to the point.
“Chrissy, she’s got people gunning for her, and this office is a shitmess. The techs here are sloppy, and young. They haven’t had to keep up with her investigation, and that’s dangerous for Elizabeth. You know how heavily she relies on forensics.”
That she did.
He kept going.
“I need you to clean it up. Unfortunately, I can’t do it alone.
Ben is a great guy, and a decent tech, but he’s not a Violent Crimes head tech.
He’s not a ‘work for Elizabeth and anticipate what she needs’ head tech.
My wife’s life is in danger, so that means I have to do drastic things. We need you.”
She couldn’t believe this.
Before she could say anything, he continued.
“Please. I will compensate you. When we’re done here, we can all go back to DC. Your home will be there, and paid off, and we can all return to our regular jobs. You’ll have a shiny new title, and be well-compensated. Think of all the STEM clubs the kids can join.”
She was excited.
Why?
Kane hated his job.
He had been working so much overtime to make sure they had the bills paid, even with her salary. This would pay for their kids’ colleges.
And STEM extracurricular things—like Chris had just said. It would take the pressure off of them, and they could start enjoying life.
Parenting was expensive, and honestly, she’d love to have another child with her husband, but they were hesitant due to how much it cost.
“Legit? Is this legal?” she asked, lifting a brow.
Chris already had his lawyers handling it. Of course, he was going to make sure their bases were covered.
“Yes. Me giving you money is my business and exclusive of the FBI. I’m just helping a very good friend get financially free of her debt there.”
Chrissy got it.
She understood how he was spinning it.
“You’re getting tired of that office and wanting to come help us out here is your business.
I just offered to pay for the expenses since I have the money to help out people I love.
Kane quitting his job to be a stay-at-home dad…
also your business. I’m just footing the moving bill, and giving you some cash to help you land softly on your feet. ”
She laughed.
Spoken like a businessman.
“Called the attorneys already, huh?”
He laughed.
“Absolutely. What say you?” he asked in a teasing tone.
She paused.
“I have to talk to my husband about this. I can’t make a life-changing decision without asking his feelings on it. Can I get back to you?” she asked.
He could wait.
They had some time.
“Yes, by all means, you can do that. It’s not like we’re busy,” he said.
Chrissy gasped.
“Oh, you done fucked up,” she said.
That made him laugh.
Honestly, he missed this woman so much. She entertained all of them, and she was so good at her job that she ran circles around even them.
“I think we’ll be good,” he said, even though Ethan had warned him that Timothy was on the prowl.
Speaking of the handsome devil, but Chris had company.
When the morgue office door opened, and he saw Ethan, he put his hand over the phone mouthpiece.
“Hey,” Chris said.
His partner clued him in.
“We have a case,” Ethan said.
Son.
Of.
A.
Bitch.
It made him laugh.
“Okay, EJ.”
Unfortunately for Chris, their old head tech heard what was said, too.
“See? When are you going to learn? You never say the ‘B’ word. She’s going to kick your ass.”
That amused him.
“I like it rough, Sue me. Just let me know what you decide, Chrissy. I’m dead serious,” he said.
She could do that.
“Thanks, Doc. I will.”
When the call went dead, Chris focused on his husband.
And it was clear that Ethan was curious.
“Was that Christina? Is everything okay back in DC?” he asked.
Because the last thing Elizabeth needed was a mess there now too. Axelle was already making it difficult to balance both offices.
Chris nodded.
“I’m just bribing Chrissy with a million dollars and to pay off her home if she’ll come here and be the head tech.”
The way he said it was so matter-of-fact, that it caught Ethan off guard.
He stared at him.
And mulled that over.
“What?” Chris asked. “Desperate times call for desperate measures. The techs misplaced evidence. I have to take this by the horns and manage it. Because once she finishes chewing the techs up, I’m the next one on the menu—and being her husband doesn’t exclude me from that jackassery.
It’s sexy, but unnecessary. I can get an erection without a bitch slapping. ”
Ethan began laughing.
Ironically, they hadn’t even contemplated just buying a head tech. Likely because it was sketchy as fuck, but that was pretty much their family motto.
‘Do sketchy shit.’
Chris was going to get accolades for this, and Ethan knew it, too.
“Oh, she’s going to fuck you stupid,” he said. “You’ve just given her the gift that keeps on giving. You managed to outsmart me and Callen by gifting her the best present ever. Oh, and just in time for her upcoming birthday.”
He laughed.
“I’m trying to keep her, me, and Ben alive, but I’ll take a wife riding me in abandon as a side benefit.
Don’t say anything yet. Chrissy hasn’t talked to Kane, and we don’t know if it’s a go yet.
I’m giving her a new title, too, if she takes this.
I’m getting too old to manage this bullshit. I need backup.”
He snorted.
Ethan knew better.
“She’s taking the deal. Kane is miserable with all of the overtime. Callie told me she heard Chrissy talking about how he’s about to break.”
Well, then, this should work in their favor.
He hoped.
Because they had work, Chris switched gears, and was curious.
“Where’s the case? Local?” he asked.
Ethan nodded.
“Yeah, get your gear. Elizabeth wants to be there by eleven. We have a little time to get there. We don’t know what morgue we’ll be using. It’s going to depend on how deep we are in remains.”
He was good with that. He didn’t mind commandeering an ME’s lab outside of the FBI.
“How many bodies?” he asked, getting mentally prepared for what was to come.
Ethan laughed.
Oh, Chris was going to be amused.
“None.”
Chris paused.
“There are no bodies?” he asked. “Then, how do we have a case if there’s no remains?”
That was a good question.
Ethan told him.
“She’s picked up random skulls, eyeballs, and jars of fun. We’ve got a collector,” he said, sick about that, but the devil you knew.
“Oh, no. Not jars full of remains. That’s just gross.”
And he was right.
It was.
Chris sighed.
This was going to be a nightmare, and his gut feeling was probably going to be spot on.
Call it a hunch.