Chapter Nineteen #2
“I found something,” MATE said, as she was staring over Rogue’s shoulder.
He glanced over.
“Uh, what?”
She made it appear on the screen, proving she was both IN the phone, and also standing there.
When he saw it, he knew.
“There was an electronic transfer,” he stated. “Yesterday afternoon. When was the poison sent to your office?” he asked Elizabeth, who was still picking the lock.
He was about to help her, when they all heard the click.
“Yesterday,” she said.
When she stood up, she headed back over to him and checked out the screen.
“Gene, get that account information to Gabby. I want to backtrace that money before he gets it deleted or scrambled.”
Maura tossed him one of their burner phones, and Gene took a picture to send it to the woman.
‘Gabs, backtrace this. We think it might lead you to something good. G.’
He hit send, and off it went. Tossing the phone back to the Major, his fingers were crossed.
Not far away, Jagger was babysitting the woman, and he made a tsking sound.
“Poison to a federal building. That’s a terrorist charge,” he stated.
Only, Elizabeth wasn’t having it.
“She’s not seeing a judge. She’s seeing Hell,” she stated. “For Vivian.”
That said it all—not that they were shocked.
As she pushed the door open to access the room, inside was a lab, and it looked like someone was cooking shit up in there.
Bad shit.
How did she know?
Well, Elizabeth knew the smell.
“Not only was she selling poison, and taking out people, but she was making money by cooking meth,” she stated, closing the door.
Nothing in there was going to be something she wanted any of them to come in contact with, but it didn’t matter.
The jury and judge were in the house.
When the woman started waking up again, Elizabeth pulled a chair up to park it in front of her.
As Suzette opened her eyes, she saw who was there, and she knew she was fucked.
“Uh-oh,” she stated.
Elizabeth smiled at her.
“Hey, Suzie-Q. What’s going on?” she asked.
The woman closed her mouth, signaling that she was not going to play ball.
Well, Elizabeth didn’t need much.
“Tell me where I can find him, and I won’t slap federal terrorism charges on you,” she stated.
The woman sighed.
“I knew he was going to be trouble. The money wasn’t worth it,” she stated.
Elizabeth glanced over.
“How much did he pay her to try to kill me, or one of my husbands?” she asked.
He told her.
“Three million.”
Elizabeth whistled.
“That’s crazy. I’m worth at least ten. You sold yourself short. You should have held out for more. You had him over the barrel,” she stated.
Suzette looked pissed.
Only, that was neither here nor there.
“Where can I find him?” Elizabeth asked.
She shrugged.
“I don’t know. It was a call, a job, and then the transfer of funds. It was fast, and last minute.”
Yeah, no shock there. Elizabeth knew that she’d thrown him off with the press conference. There was no doubt that he’d had Suzette on the back burner for a later job.
“Tell me about it.”
And the woman did.
Yeah, she kept talking, even as her face was covered in blood from her nose down.
“He wanted the good roses. The ones from Colombia,” she admitted.
Gene stared at Elizabeth.
They’d not caught that.
Then again, it didn’t matter. They knew who had sent them since he’d been seen on camera.
“He wanted a specific poison. I told him it was overkill, and that the slightest dose would kill in twenty-four hours, but he needed it to be fast, and hard.”
Elizabeth listened, sitting there with her legs crossed as she took it all in.
“What else?”
“I dosed up the roses, and he paid with transfer. He told me to keep a note in the drawer, in case you came in. He didn’t think you would, but in case.”
Gene went to the drawer she was talking about and pulled it out. He was wearing gloves because he wasn’t touching shit in this hellhole. He saw into that room, and there were plants under lights, lab equipment, and beakers full of funky liquid.
PASS.
As he read it, he knew Elizabeth was going to lose her shit.
‘Dearest Elizabeth,
By now, you’ve found where the roses came from, but I didn’t exactly make it difficult. Your father taught you well. Let me tell you how much I enjoyed digging up his grave. Oh, it took a while, since I had to worry about being seen, but when I did, I made sure to utilize his bones.
Your mommy, too. I bet she was just as pretty as you were in her heyday. I hope your husbands put you with them when I kill you. All that will be left are your bones.
Oh, and then, I’m going after your daughter. We can’t let that DNA spread. Charlie is adorable, and she looks just like you.
Like mother.
Like daughter.
I can’t wait to violate her in your memory. I bet she cries for you.
See you soon,
Devon.’
When she held out her hand, Gene hesitated.
“I don’t think you should read it,” he admitted. “You’re not going to like it.”
That didn’t matter.
She didn’t like anything about this.
“Gene.”
Against his best advice, he did it anyway, and he knew the second Devon threatened her daughter. Elizabeth’s eyes narrowed, and they went cold.
ICE.
COLD.
Handing the paper to Maura, she stared at Suzie.
“Where can I find him?”
The woman shrugged.
“Like I said, it was a call, and he came in. The transfer was electronic. He said he’d call me again if he needed more, and then, he was gone. I wrapped the roses in plastic so he wouldn’t accidentally poison himself.”
Elizabeth focused on her.
“I had a case once where Aconite was used. That was the dead giveaway.”
She sighed.
“Next time, I’m saying no.”
That was damn funny that she thought there would be a second chance at this rodeo.
Oh.
Hell.
No.
Without warning, Elizabeth got up, grabbed the woman by the head, and twisted so fast they all heard the popping of her spinal column as her neck was broken.
“Yeah, bitch, there won’t be a next time,” she said. “You helped a man who just threatened my kid. Enjoy Hell.”
And with that, she pulled off her gloves.
“Blow it up,” she stated. “It’s a meth lab, and those things happen.”
Maura cut the woman’s zip ties, so it wouldn’t look like she was restrained when the place blew, and then, Jagger dragged her into the room, shoving her in.
Zayn had another detonator out.
“Give us more time, asshole,” Jagger warned. “Don’t fuck around with this.”
The man laughed.
“Then move your little legs to the door now, so we have time,” he stated, connecting the detonator to a gas heater. “I’d start moving.”
They headed toward the door, taking their tech and hers with them.
Just.
In.
Case.
There was no doubt there would be mysterious unsolved poisonings out there that they might be able to tie to her.
As they got into the vehicle, Maura hit the gas, reversing it, as they floored it out of there.
They got to the main strip when they heard the loudest, most obnoxious explosion.
From the back seat, Zayn giggled.
“Oh, it followed the main line,” he said. “Bet that hurt.”
Yeah, well, considering she was already dead…
They were pretty sure it didn’t matter.
Elizabeth was to the point.
“See if you can find anyone else that she killed in contracted hits,” she stated. “It appeared she kept a list,” she admitted.
Rogue had seen it. The Hunters would add it to their databanks of bad dudes hiring other bad dudes.
Just.
In.
Case.
Now, he was curious.
“Okay. What else do you want us to do with it?” he inquired.
She was to the point.
“Send out the Snakes. There’s money in each one they take down. We’re going to clean up in this country. It’s on my goddamn last nerve.”
And that said it all.
“All of them?” Rogue asked, wanting to make sure.
She nodded.
“Find anyone who had contact with Suzette and wipe them. Same with the other asshole. Then, send me the bill.”
Oh, someone was big mad.
Leaning over the seat, Zayn was curious.
“I cleaned out the cash register,” he said, clutching a fistful of bills.
Jagger stared back at him.
“Why?” he asked.
Zayn smiled.
“I made it look like a robbery. Can we get lunch?” he asked.
Rogue sighed.
“My dude, we blew the place. It’s going to look like a bomb was dropped, not a robbery. There won’t be anything to find, including Suzette.”
He didn’t give two shits.
“Still, can we get lunch?” he asked. “I didn’t want to ask the boss lady to buy. That seemed tacky. I don’t carry cash.”
Elizabeth glanced over at Gene, and he made a hundred-dollar bill appear.
Then, he handed it to Zayn.
“Just don’t do anything ridiculous,” he said.
The man grinned.
“She makes money appear with just a look, too. How do I get that power?” he asked. “Burgers for everyone.”
Only, no one said shit.
Why?
The tension was thick in the ride, and they were smart enough to read the room.
Elizabeth Blackhawk was not in a good place.
And they were trapped in a car with another ticking time bomb.
HER.
* * * The Blackhawks * * *
Devon Slater’s
Hidey-Hole
Outside Damascus
Tomorrow was the day.
All morning, he’d been making his plans, getting them back on track.
Yes, her little stunt sidetracked him, but now, he was back in business.
The show had to go on.
He had the next set of victims picked out and a tote full of things to plant at the crime scene. He’d get in, do the damage, and then, he’d get out of there.
Why?
While she was busy with that scene, he’d be on a plane, tracking her children.
And she’d never see it coming.
All of this time, she was focused on her husbands, and herself, but if he couldn’t have them, he knew the true way to devastate her.
One of her kids.
When her daughter had been taken from school, he’d seen it on the news, and it had intrigued him. The media spoke about it, and he knew that the little girl, while a challenge, she’d believe that she was safe.
Only, she wasn’t.
He knew how to get to her.
Devon’s father taught him to be good at what he did, and he would make sure he got to Charlie.
By the time she found the letter he’d left her with the woman who poisoned the flowers, it would be too late.
See, he knew where all of their homes were.
The woman who worked for their family attorney had left her job six months ago, and he’d found her.
And killed her.