Page 46 of Chaos has a Name (An FBI Romance/Thriller #66)

Only, this time, it was something else. The second she saw it, she was confused.

“Are those symbols carved into the bone?” she asked. “And is it a whistle? Did whoever is doing this whittle a bone to be one?”

Yeah, this was definitely the definition of odd in their books.

Gene sighed.

“Of course we’re going to get a case with so many bodies, no evidence, and a human arm bone made into a creepy-ass instrument. Now add some ominous message on the bone, and we’ve hit the trifecta of cuckoo. Is it a full moon also? That would be the icing on the cupcake.”

He was right.

This definitely sounded like something she would catch as a case.

She tapped her vest.

“MATE, scan the symbols on the bone, and try translating them for me. Since this is a rez, start with the indigenous language, and pan out to other tribes. I can’t identify it, and I speak the language here fluently.”

Her vest chirped.

“Starting scan,” MATE said, as Elizabeth stood still so the beam of light could move up and down the bone that Tony had in his possession. “Working on translating.”

That worked for her.

When she focused on her one mate, Chris looked like he was wrapping up his part of it.

So, she asked.

“Are you good?”

Yeah, this was an easy one for him. Most of the bones were flesh free. The few that were there had to be the recent kill. He wouldn’t be doing an autopsy.

This would be more testing the remaining flesh for DNA and any type of toxicology.

For once, he wasn’t overwhelmed.

“I bagged the remains that were fleshy. There weren’t many. Elizabeth, if you’re dealing with someone who is eating people…that’s bad. If this is long-term, or a tradition, you can get illnesses from cannibalism of human flesh—not to mention the psychological issues.”

Oh, she was aware.

She’d crossed paths with a few people who had a penchant for eating flesh.

Livers.

Organs.

In her world, she saw just about everything one person could do to another.

Sometimes, it went off the charts crazy, and she ended up chasing a cannibal.

Like now.

“Something occurred to me,” Chris admitted. “As I was standing here bagging the fleshy bits, it reminded me of a journal article I read from a Mexican, forensic medical examiner.”

She waited.

“What?”

Chris shared what he’d remembered.

“Not that long ago, I read about something that was picking up speed in the medical community—mostly for someone in Ethan’s profession. There’s a disease called Wendigo Psychosis.”

She lifted a brow.

Why did the name of that both amuse her and make her twitchy at the same time?

Now, she needed to know.

“Is that a legit thing?”

He nodded.

“Yeah, and coincidentally, we have a Wendigo problem on our hands.”

Know what she loved?

That her man was smart and read a lot of medical journals for shits and giggles. That was damn handy in her world.

Never let it be said that having a really intelligent partner wasn’t a good thing. Chris could randomly pull things out of his gray matter and give her things to work with on a case.

She appreciated that.

As his wife was contemplating that, Chris was to the point.

“I didn’t read the whole journal regarding it. I would talk to Ethan about it. I’m going to bet that you’re going to want his insight.”

She blinked.

“Well, you could tell me what you learned from it, couldn’t you?”

He was honest.

“It’s more a shrinky dink issue than a disease issue. I’m sure he’ll know what I’m talking about if you jog his brain with it. I don’t want to misrepresent it. You know how I feel about psychology. It’s hella weird and I don’t believe in it.”

She laughed.

Yeah, that sounded more like her man.

“Okay, Christopher. Thank you for the information. I’ll email Ethan right now.”

Only, she didn’t get a chance.

As she was about to do just that, Elizabeth heard something very familiar.

Holy.

Shit.

WINDCHIMES.

And to be honest, they sounded like they were right behind her.

Without hesitating, she knew they had to move.

“Down!” she shouted, grabbing Chris who was right next to her, and protecting his body with hers since he was in aqua scrubs, and not body armor.

As soon as she shouted, Ivan took down Gene. The big man landed face down on the ground.

Their bodies covered the two men.

It was seconds later that they knew why she’d shouted that. Two arrows came whizzing into the opening, one after another, hitting her in the back, and missing Gene’s head by inches.

Holy.

Hell’s.

Bells.

Luckily for Elizabeth, the arrow didn’t penetrate her vest, but now, she was pissed.

This wouldn’t be some Natives hunting for deer. This would be whoever was behind this. This was exactly why she’d felt off.

They were being watched.

Oh, fuck no.

She was going to catch this piece of shit. When you messed with her family, there were consequences.

Getting up, she pushed off of Chris’ body, and started to run. They only had Ivan there, and there was no freaking way she was letting him do this alone.

Not on her watch.

With Ivan not far behind her, they headed into the trees where someone had been.

It was a chase.

Ahead of her, Elizabeth could hear the heavy footfalls of someone running through the woods to escape them.

Oh, hell, no.

You didn’t shoot at her and her team, and get away with it. The arrows were sharp, and could kill.

Thank God for her vest.

As they ran, she pointed, and Ivan knew what she wanted to do.

They needed to box this crazy in. Chasing anyone through the thick forest was dangerous, but if they could outmaneuver, they might have a chance.

Chasing someone who was clearly armed was worse—for them. While they were both armed, this wasn’t her turf. Natives knew the lay of the land, and all of the places to tuck away to hide.

She didn’t.

The whole time, Elizabeth was listening.

If the running stopped, they’d have time to get another arrow ready to go. A headshot would not be as forgiving as one to her vest.

As they split off, Ivan went to the right, and Elizabeth kept following the trail of broken branches and smooshed foliage.

Whoever this was, they were leaving a trail.

Only, as she got closer, and she was seeing a shadow moving ahead in the thicker brush, she heard something that made her nervous.

Windchimes.

But this time, it was too late.

Before she could pull her gun, or even react, something big slammed into her body, sending her careening into a downed log.

The hit was brutal, and her shoulder sang in pain as her ribs and arm took most of the blow.

It was when something hit her in the head that the forest started going gray and closing in on her.

And she was down.

Elizabeth couldn’t hold back the tunnel vision as she lost consciousness.

Alone.

In the forest.

They’d made a mistake.

A huge one.

* * * The Blackhawk Family * * *

FBI West

Same Time

Back at the FBI building, the agents in the Violent Crimes Unit were filtering in and finding their bearings. They’d arrived, seen their places to drop their suitcases, and had reported to the office to get their assignments.

It was work time.

Mostly, they were learning the lay of the land to see where they’d be calling home-sweet-work for the future. From the reaction of most of them, they were excited to be at this office for as long as need be.

Being chosen to work for Elizabeth here was something to be proud of, and those agents included in her transfer were happy to be picked.

Now, Ian was already doing Ian things as he was in Elizabeth’s office, his laptop was on the desk, and he was starting to filter through things she needed done to keep working as both the Deputy Director of the FBI, and the head of the VC unit.

Elizabeth knew he’d do the job.

As Ethan watched them all, he knew they were going to be okay here. He and Callen had come back to try to figure out the missing people from the reservation, and got sidetracked with their team.

Now, seeing them here made the transition a little easier for all of them.

If they were staying here, they’d be okay.

They had good people supporting them, like Ian.

What amused Ethan was the man hadn’t wanted to come back to work after what had gone down with being accused of murdering his rapist, but after two weeks, he was bored out of his mind.

He’d come to them and asked to help.

Apparently, he was making Gryphen twitchy as he organized his sock drawer more than once. Planning a wedding in Scotland only took so much time.

Either way, thank God he was back.

Elizabeth was going to need all of the help that she could get as she was trying to manage both jobs and the family.

All of the people who would back up Elizabeth and make this transition easier were a blessing to the family.

They’d gotten word from Corbin that he had successfully put his mother’s business up for sale, and would be in Damascus as soon as possible.

Honestly, Ethan was looking forward to it. The Crotch Goblin was good people, as his wife would say, and they had a history between them.

He.

Was.

Family.

As for Duke, he was still at his apartment, and he’d texted to say that he would be on his way after he talked to his wife, Axelle.

His wife was a single parent until they could figure something out, and the struggle was real. Honestly, Ethan was betting that the two little girls were coming to Damascus to spend the time with their father.

Duke was a girl dad, and he rocked out being the one in charge of their kids.

Axelle…not so much.

She joked she had no mothering instincts, but the truth was she did. They just weren’t as refined as Duke’s. Some people were born to be parents, and some, unfortunately, weren’t.

The office was filling up, and it did Ethan’s heart good.

Alex was there, and he was getting the room set up for the team. He had files in boxes that Elizabeth wanted transported, and he was ready to get out in the field.

“How was the trip?” Ethan asked, as Alex glanced over at him.

“I mean, it was okay. The jet had snacks, but Ian wouldn’t let us crack open a beer. He’s such a wet blanket at times.”

That was funny.