Page 94 of Chaos has a Name (An FBI Romance/Thriller #66)

Thomas Adsila’s

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Thursday Morning

As soon as she emptied the second clip, she handed them back to Gryphen, as everyone stared at her. There was no doubt she was pissed, but no one had expected that. Only, as soon as the silence hit, they all heard it.

A hasty retreat.

Someone was running away from them, and that was likely a good idea. It was clear that Elizabeth was done playing around with the killers.

She’d never done anything like that before, and that said it all.

She.

Was.

Pissed.

Then, as if nothing happened, she carried on with her investigation.

“Okay, let’s hit the bar,” she said, calmly.

Everyone there was staring at her.

“What?” she asked, looking around. “They fired an arrow at me. I think that allows me to fire back. I would have used my gun, but I forgot it’s from Michael. I could have kept going.”

Her son was staring at the arrow in the log next to her head.

Holy shit!

That had been close.

“Uh, two clips?” Ivan asked.

Elizabeth shrugged.

“I mean, if someone’s going to try to kill me, I’m allowed to do the same back. One didn’t seem like enough to scare them.”

Yeah, they were all staring at her.

Ivan shook his head.

“Psych eval in aisle crazy,” he stated, as Gryphen just patted his pockets for more clips. She’d used up both of his.

Elizabeth continued.

“That will buy us a little time as they regroup. We don’t have enough security to cover us and the trees.

Like Ethan said…they wanted us to chase.

We’re not playing their game. We’re playing mine.

The crazy Natives seem to think that this white woman is out of her element.

So, when they go crazy, you go crazier.”

Yowza.

Her husband was worried about her, but then, Callen understood.

Her child was right there.

Yeah, he was good with that response.

“And no paperwork,” she said, “since it wasn’t an FBI sidearm. Think of it as just checking to make sure Gryphen keeps his gun well-oiled.”

That said it all.

As she walked back to the car, Takoda sticking to her like glue, she spoke to Ethan and Axl.

“Make sure they get pictures of the footprints when they come here. I want that in the file, and the arrow collected too.”

Ethan was worried about her.

“Are you okay?” he asked. “All I saw was dirt.”

She said one thing.

“I can’t wait to go home. My ass is going to skip and dance all the way to that jet. Bet on it.”

Oh, well, that said it all.

When they loaded up, she was curious.

“How far is the bar?” she asked.

Since they had driven by it, Ivan knew the distance and told her.

“A mile—give or take a few feet.”

As she sat there, the men were all watching her, and she understood.

“Really, I’m okay. That wasn’t me losing my mind and needing therapy.

That was me legitimately buying time for all of us.

Maybe it was annoyance that someone shot an arrow at me, and my son was right there, but I know when I’m being poked and watched.

They are studying me. Now, they know I’ll go crazy.

No one tell Axelle about this, or my ass is grass,” she admitted.

Uh, yeah, she would.

And Callie would be evaluating her.

They all knew that it was scary for her as a mother, and that arrow had been close.

Way.

Too.

Close.

How she managed to stay calm was beyond them. Honestly, they weren’t sure if her ‘give a fuck’ was broken, or she was just incredibly angry.

Or both.

Callen sat beside his wife, and put his arm over her shoulders as they regrouped.

“Should I retape the door?” Rayna asked, as she looked into the vehicle.

Uriel was right behind her, blocking her body with his as she spoke.

Elizabeth shook her head.

“What’s the ETA on a tech team?” she asked.

Axl shared.

“Any minute,” he said. “They already picked up the head,” he stated. “Chris just texted me to give Ethan a heads-up.”

That worked for her.

“No. We’ll sit here until they show.”

No one questioned her.

It amused Elizabeth. All she had to do was something so unhinged and they’d all behave.

She was writing that one down for another time.

“Do we know if he walked or drove?” she asked, seeing his old truck in the driveway.

Rayna knew.

“He likely walked. I’ve busted him a few times with a DUI as he drove the mile home.”

She wasn’t shocked.

Elizabeth recalled Callen telling her many, many times that the biggest crime he’d dealt with on the reservation was DUIs and drugs.

“Well, then, they might have been at the bar that evening. They might have followed him, one sneaking out earlier knowing he was there.”

That was a good possibility.

They’d have to see if they’d get some help from the owner of the bar, and anyone in there.

What were the chances of that?

Not good, and she knew it.

As they saw the tech van pull up, and forensic scientists get out, she whistled.

They headed her way.

“There’s blood all over the inside. A bone whistle that needs to go to Doctor Magnus, and there’s a shoeprint outside the one window. You’ll know which one when it comes to the arrow sticking out of the wall.”

The woman nodded.

“Yes, Director.”

“Cut the log to get the arrow tip. See if there’s any human DNA on it.”

Rayna cringed.

“Or don’t cut the log. The council…”

She looked over at her.

“Gryphen, are you reloaded?”

The man laughed.

“You have a perfectly fine unregistered gun from Saint Michael of the Illegal. Why do you gotta abuse mine?”

Rayna got it.

“Or just cut out the log.”

Yeah, she thought as much.

“Watch yourselves, and if you hear chanting, a whistle, or anyone in the trees, get the hell out of there.”

Well, that sounded ominous, and made the tech team twitchy.

When they headed off, she tapped Ivan.

“Let’s roll. Uriel, follow.”

He jogged back to the tail car, as quickly as he could. Then, Elizabeth buckled in.

They’d wasted ten minutes waiting, and she was ready to get to the bar and dig in.

Without another word, Ivan drove there, and she was thinking about how she wanted to handle this.

Elizabeth needed to do this the right way. There was no doubt she’d only get one shot at it.

As they arrived at the bar, there was a truck parked on the side, and another in front.

From the looks of it, the owner was inside because they could hear laughter coming from the building.

Ethan came over the vest.

“Please be careful. You know what happens every time Callen and I go into a bar on this reservation.”

She just laughed.

“Oh, no, a fight. I hope there’s not one of those,” she joked, cracking her knuckles.

Ethan just sighed.

“I think you sent me to the office so I couldn’t make sure my wife didn’t raise a shit ton of hell in my absence.”

No, she sent him there because if Gryphen dove onto him, he could harm his back. She’d say this was a stretch, but since it just happened…

And she knew he’d had a rough night.

It was her way of protecting him without him knowing what she was doing.

That would piss him off.

“She’s going to be on her best behavior, isn’t she?” Callen asked, wanting his wife to not stir the pot too much.

After the little gun-fire incident, and the arrow nearly hitting her head, he was pretty much done with this place.

God.

He hoped they got out of here soon.

Coming back was fun to visit, or see their donations in action, but it wasn’t fun when some Native had it in for you.

The Hollow was batshit insane.

When they got out, she pointed at security.

“This is going to go so much easier if you stay here,” she admitted. “It’s bad enough with me, but the last thing we need is more Caucasians not Blackhawks shaking down the Natives.”

Ivan pointed at her.

“If you get into a goddamn fistfight, I’m calling your boss. I don’t care if you get angry at me. When we get out of here, you can go cause a fight in a normal bar.”

She snorted.

You knew the man was desperate when he was offering up that option.

“I can’t start a fight. The Chief of Police will arrest me,” she stated.

He seemed to calm down.

Oh, she wouldn’t start shit, but she knew how to end it. That was for damn sure.

Elizabeth focused on her son.

“Koda, you need to stay here.”

He looked upset.

Only, she patted his leg.

“You’re only half-Native, and old cranky men in rez bars like to take their anger out on anyone who isn’t one of them.”

He got it.

“You’re going in.”

She kissed him on the forehead.

“Yeah, but I’m a cunt.”

Ivan actually laughed.

“Did anyone record that? Can I get it sent to me?” he joked.

Callen pointed at him.

“Man. Tough crowd today.”

Yeah, it was.

They were all stressed out.

“Ivan will show you how to use MATE to run searches, and help you make an account that you can use.”

That cheered him up.

“Deal.”

Well, that was easy. Now, she had to hope the interviews were.

Getting out, Uriel met them at the side of the vehicle, and Ivan clued him in.

They were babysitting the cars.

As they headed in, the second the man behind the bar saw the Chief of Police, he sighed.

“We didn’t charge them,” he said.

Rayna walked over to the juke box that had seen better days about fifty years ago, and unplugged it.

“It’s not about that, Paditi. It’s about Thomas Adsila,” she said.

The man eyed up the rest of the people who came in. Oh, and he knew who they were. There was no doubt to Elizabeth that he was measuring them up.

“Hey, Paditi. I’m Elizabeth Blackhawk,” she said, trying to be friendly.

Callen tossed down some money.

“We’ll have coffee,” he said. “Four of them, please.”

The man stood his ground.

“I can’t sell beverages,” he stated. “The lady insists,” Paditi added.

The man had long brown hair, and it was braided down his back. The whole time he was watching them, and there was no surprise he didn’t like them.

Elizabeth and Gene were white.

Oh, and they were all Blackhawks. You either loved them now, or hated them because of the past.

It was a crapshoot.

Callen looked over at the Chief of Police.

“Rayna, can we buy coffee before business hours?” he asked, calling the man’s BULLSHIT.

Because that was what it was.