Page 95 of Chaos has a Name (An FBI Romance/Thriller #66)

She simply nodded, and that told Paditi that she wasn’t playing with his bullshit either.

The man begrudgingly poured them coffee.

When he did, they all sat down at the bar, and there were some Natives in there.

Watching.

Elizabeth was gauging if anyone in here could have run through the woods and reached this place before them.

She could run a mile in seven minutes, and that was a slow pace for her. They’d sat in the vehicle and had a conversation for about ten minutes as they waited for the techs to arrive.

Yeah, they could have depending on their shape. Only, no one looked out of breath.

Again, she wouldn’t be either, and neither had been the shadow she’d chased in the woods.

“Thank you,” she said, when he placed it in front of him.

The look on his face said it all.

He didn’t like her.

AT.

ALL.

“We need to ask you some questions,” Elizabeth said, making the man laugh.

It wasn’t a funny laugh either.

It was sardonic.

“Oh, well, absolutely. Let me talk to a white woman this early in the morning when I really am not in the mood for your bullshit. Lady, you’re out of your fucking mind. Pound sand.”

Callen lifted a brow.

Oh, he was going to get his ass beat, by him. Callen wouldn’t let anyone talk to his wife that way, especially since she hadn’t started shit first.

Before he could say anything, the man slapped his hands on the bar, and leaned over to stare at her.

“I don’t care how much pity money you drop here. You’re an outsider, and you don’t need to be here. If the two men who shacked up with you cared about this tribe, they’d leave you home.”

Callen opened his mouth.

Why?

The other Natives in the room were agreeing with the man, and while he got it, always being the minority in the room, this was his wife.

She was the least racist person there.

In fact, he and Ethan were probably more racist than she ever could be.

Only, he was cut off.

“I understand that,” she said, calmly sipping her coffee. “Only, you have a problem,” she said. “It seems that someone is killing Natives here. One a year, and then coming back for more helpings the following Solstice.”

There were murmurs from the older Natives.

Yeah, the cat was out of the bag.

Word would spread, but she needed to get this shit handled so she could stop the killing and get back to DC.

“What the hell are you talking about, lady?” Paditi said.

It was when his brother came out of the back, hearing the commotion, that they all looked over.

He sighed the second he saw why his brother was all stirred up.

“Pad, calm down,” he said.

The man headed toward Callen, and shook his hand. It was clear he knew him.

“It’s been a while, Callen.”

The man nodded.

“It has,” he said, recalling the last time he saw the man. It had been when he was Chief of Police here. Roland had called him a lot when Wyler was passed out at his bar.

Or started a fight.

Or…

“She’s up in our business,” Paditi said to his brother.

That made Roland curious.

He knew that his mother spoke of the Blackhawks a lot. He didn’t know Ethan Blackhawk, but he did know his brother, Wyler, and Timothy.

“About?” he asked, shaking Elizabeth’s hand, and ignoring Gene.

Callen stopped that bullshit.

“He married my brother,” he said. “He’s a Blackhawk,” he stated.

Roland didn’t care.

They tolerated Elizabeth Blackhawk because Timothy Blackhawk loved her. She was all he spoke of, and that bought her a little leeway.

Not much, but some.

Rayna spoke up.

“We have questions,” she said, seeing that the Natives were not happy. “Since your brother doesn’t want to answer them for Elizabeth, you guys can answer them for me.”

Paditi rolled his eyes.

“What is it with all the goddamn Natives wanting to bring the whites home to be here?” he asked.

Elizabeth said nothing.

Why?

If she reacted, it would just vilify her and Gene more. She would take it.

For Callen.

“Knock it off, Paditi,” Callen said. “Your mother is a sweetheart. What the fuck happened to you? Did you get dropped on your head? Is it your father’s gene pool? He was douchey too.”

The man tensed.

Oh, but Callen was done.

In all honestly, Callen chose his battles, and this one wasn’t anything new.

Only, Gene and Elizabeth were their family, and Timothy always taught him and Ethan that family came first.

Period.

“Just ask,” Roland said to defuse the situation.

Rayna did.

“What do you guys know about The Hollow?” she asked.

The older Natives were really whispering now. Oh, there was no doubt they knew.

“Nothing,” Roland admitted. “What is that?”

When Rayna looked over, Elizabeth shook her head. So instead, she asked about Thomas Adsila.

“As I’m sure you heard from his sister, Thomas went missing, and we found his remains,” Rayna admitted.

They’d heard from Wynonah that her brother was missing, but not that he’d died.

“That’s too bad. He was one of our best customers,” Paditi admitted.

Roland laughed.

“Well, that’s a tab we aren’t getting paid.”

Both men leaned on the bar.

“Did anyone hassle him?” Rayna asked, even as the older Natives were still talking.

Why did Rayna ask about The Hollow? Maybe if people talked about it, the Natives would be outraged, and it would stop in case Elizabeth couldn’t find who was behind this. The bottom line was Rayna had to help her people.

Right?

Paditi shook his head.

“He had his customary beers, he gave us the line about bringing us money yesterday, and he never showed. When Wynonah came in last night, she told us he was missing. The only people I saw him talking to were his friends, Joseph Thunderfoot and Oren Sky.”

Rayna knew she should have done the notify, but they didn’t have his identity yet.

They were assuming the fleshy hand and head were him.

Oh, she knew enough about being a cop to know that there were steps.

Elizabeth made a mental note of the friend’s names. It looked like they’d get a visit at some point too.

Callen went there as his wife and Gene simply drank their coffee and listened.

“Who was in here that night?”

Roland laughed.

“Uh, about forty people give or take. It was Lewis Redrock’s birthday,” he said, pointing at the man not far away.

Callen turned, and he knew him too.

“How’s the family?” he asked, focusing on Lewis. He had been a fixture at the bar when he’d been Chief of Police too.

The man flipped him off.

Ahhhh, someone held a grudge.

“Mind your business, traitor,” the older man said. “You left to go to the FBI. I’m not talking to you.”

Elizabeth was watching him, and so was Gene. They turned in their seats but mostly so that Ethan could see the people they were talking to.

Callen didn’t take it personally.

With the old drunken Natives, it was par for the course.

“Well, I liked health insurance, and spending time with my brother.”

The older man laughed.

“Timothy would be disappointed in that half-breed brother of yours. He was supposed to take over. If you ask me, I’m not shocked. He has no honor. I think the Blackhawks need to turn over the rights to Shaman so another family can take over.”

All of the old men agreed, and raised their free breakfast beers in agreement.

Gene was tense, and Elizabeth put her hand on his thigh to help calm him down. She wasn’t thrilled that Ethan was hearing this, but letting Gene kick some old Native’s ass over calling Ethan ‘half-breed’ was detrimental.

Plus, Axelle would take his badge.

“I remember you, Lewis,” Callen said. “Didn’t your wife run off with your cousin?

” he asked, grinning. “I mean, she left you and your kids so fast…I’m sure it was her fault though, right?

Bottoms up, drunk. Oh, and didn’t your second wife have you arrested for battery?

Wait! She did. I filled out the paperwork and tossed you in jail myself. Interesting.”

The old man scowled.

Callen wasn’t done.

He pointed at the man beside him.

“Jesse Storm, it’s been a while. You still trying to print money on that copier you found on the side of the road?” he asked. “You know…like that time you passed off counterfeit money and nearly got the Feds on your door? Maybe we should come on over.”

That closed his mouth fast.

“I think the statute of limitations is still open on that one. Maybe I should take a look into your internet browser history too. You like them younger, don’t you?”

The old man turned his head and shut up fast.

“Gentlemen, don’t fucking test me when it comes to my brother. I’ll take off this badge so fast, and make sure I make your lives miserable—and the lives of your children.”

That seemed to work.

Elizabeth was in her glory.

So that’s what it looked like when someone went off on a bunch of men. She had to admit that it was kinda hot.

Gene lowered his voice so only Ethan and Elizabeth could hear him.

“I don’t care what you say. That’s hot.”

She gave him a fist-bump, and then kept drinking the coffee.

Callen was to the point.

“You know…the ONLY reason I came back here to help most of you is because Timothy loved this shithole for some reason.”

He was pissed now.

“Didn’t you bang your wife’s sister?” he asked, going to the next man to make a point. “How’d that work out?”

The man looked horrified.

“Yeah, that was fun paperwork when your old lady tried to put that fireplace poker through your abdomen,” he said.

Rayna was taking a lesson. It was a masterclass in how to tell the old Natives off. She was saving this in her memories for later.

Callen kept going.

“And you,” he said. “I caught you with so much crack that you could have opened a storefront.”

The Native man stared down into his beer.

“Oh, and you,” he said, pointing at another older Native. “You stole the tires off of your neighbor’s truck, and I didn’t arrest you because I made you put them back.”

Lewis stared at his drinking buddy.

“I’m your goddamn neighbor,” he said. “You stole my truck tires? That was you?”

Well, his work here was done.

Chaos.

Sometimes, that was better than a bar fight.