Lex fbi protectors book.., p.1
Lex (FBI Protectors Book 4), page 1
Lex
By Elizabeth Lennox
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Copyright 2023
All rights reserved
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Any duplication of this material, either electronic or any other format, either currently in use or a future invention, is strictly prohibited, unless you have the direct consent of the author.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Epilogue
Bonus Material!
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Excerpt from “Ava”
Chapter 1
“Are you one of those FBI agents?”
Lex looked up, then froze. It was her! It was the woman from the playground! The one with the great legs!
She was even more lovely up close. His body tightened, his muscles turning to stone as he jerked his head with an affirmative nod. “Yes. And you are?”
The woman sat down opposite him, thumping her heavy leather tote bag onto her lap. The thing was so big, it almost hid her from view. She reached in and took out several items, putting them onto the table between them. A sippy cup. A toy hammer. A toy screw driver. A small train with a smiling face on it. That train toy was a bit creepy and Lex looked away, wondering why the woman had sat down. He sipped his coffee, watching her and trying to ignore that creepy-smiling-train watching him.
“Here,” she sighed with relief as she hefted a large envelope out of that monstrously large tote bag. She plopped the envelope down on the table, then started dumping the toys back into the bag. Thank goodness! Lex wasn’t sure how much longer he could stand that train face mocking him. The train knew how much the woman was affecting him. And he judged! Yes, the train somehow knew that Lex was attracted to the lady, his mind instantly wondering what she’d look like underneath that bulky sweater. She’d donned some sort of scarf around her neck, even though the late spring day promised to be on the warm side.
A second later, she dumped that crazy-large bag onto the floor next to her chair, then looked at him expectantly. After a moment, she nudged the envelope closer to him, her hazel eyes watching him as if she wanted him to do something.
“What’s in the envelope?” he asked, taking another casual sip of his coffee.
The waitress arrived. “Hey, Brantlee. You want a cup of coffee?”
Brantlee. Mentally, he said the woman’s name over and over again in his mind. The name suited her. She was cute. A bit too thin, but very cute. Her hair was in one of those messy buns that still managed to somehow look sexy. But it was her eyes that captured his attention. Big, hazel eyes…green one moment, then goldenish the next. How was that possible? Just a flash of the light, he thought, leaning forward to take the envelope.
“No, no coffee, Priscilla. I’m not staying long.”
The waitress nodded, then moved on to the next table within her station, topping off coffee and smiling to the regulars she knew. Tourists had already started coming into the small town of Minnow, Pennsylvania, eager to get a jump on the hiking, fishing and white water rafting offered by the small mountain town. The spring had been exceptionally wet this year, making the white water rafting even more tempting than normal. The river was fast and the melting snow from the higher altitudes was still filtering into the waterways, making the trip down the river even more exciting and challenging.
“This,” Brantlee explained, laying her hands on the large envelope, “are all of the suspicious invoices I’ve been able to gather together for you and your team.”
Lex blinked, trying to hide his surprise. “We just requested the court order yesterday for these invoices. The mayor was arrested only two days ago. How did you…?”
“I’ve been doing my own research for months now. I’m the accountant for the county, and these,” she tapped the envelope with her hands, “are the files that I think you and your FBI team should focus on. I don’t know if they are what you’re looking for, but I know that they don’t make any sense.” She clasped her hands together and Lex noticed that her fingernails were painfully short and that there were red, rough patches on her hands. She obviously washed her hands a lot, he thought. “Now that you guys are here, I’m legally obligated to give these to you. I’ve attached notes to the invoices I’ve already researched and what conclusions I’ve been able to come up with. But if you need any other information, I’m more than happy to help.”
With that, she bent down and grabbed the straps of her leather tote bag and stood up. “Here’s my contact information,” she said, bending over and writing her cell phone and email address on the napkin. “Call me anytime.”
Then she hurried out of the diner, waving to a few of the other patrons before disappearing out through the door.
Lex turned his head, watching as she stepped into an older model SUV. His eyes narrowed when the woman pursed her lips, then released a breath of air. She then leaned her forehead against the steering wheel. Had she been nervous about delivering the envelope?
Yes, he thought, watching her carefully through the large window. He noticed that she lifted her head and looked around, as if someone might have been watching her. What the hell? Who was she afraid of?
Time to do a bit of investigating, he thought. Tossing down several bills for the coffee and a large tip, he walked out of the diner, intending to follow the woman. She was hiding something and he needed to find out what.
Just the fact that a county employee had turned over an envelope filled with suspicious invoices seemed suspicious to him. He and his team had been in Minnow for a while now, and they hadn’t had much cooperation from anyone in town, aside from Becca, the deputy mayor. And it had gotten worse after they’d arrested the mayor, the local doctor, and the doctor’s wife after the trio had tried to kill Becca. The three of them had all been part of the racketeering scheme that Jason DeFila had played out over the town, using petty crimes and intimidation to extort payments from the business owners and residents for “protection” against further crimes.
DeFila was now behind bars, but the man had been a criminal mastermind. He’d developed a process by which he’d move different thugs into a small town, cause mayhem, then provide protection – for a price. He’d done this in several small towns all over the east coast and it was taking time to unravel the web of contacts that had enabled the man’s system to work. There were FBI teams in six different towns in three different states, investigating local governments and police officers, determining who took the bribes and who simply turned a blind eye to the criminal developments.
The mayor had definitely been in the pocket of DeFila’s men. But the local doctor and his wife had also been part of the town’s crime blanket that had smothered the residents.
The three had been arrested and were in an FBI detention facility in Philadelphia, about an hour’s drive from Minnow.
Now Lex and his team were sifting through the details, trying to figure out who else might have been involved.
Having evidence literally handed to him was unusual.
Tucking the envelope under his arm, he walked out to his SUV, slipping his sunglasses over his eyes so that he could see which way the lovely Brantlee had gone. Yes, he was going to follow her. He was an excellent FBI agent. It was his job to ensure that the town was safe.
That was the excuse he was using, at least. He followed her down the street and she pulled into the parking lot of the county administration office. No shocker there, he thought as he continued down the street.
Fifteen minutes later, he entered the building where he and his team were working. Agent Maddox, their team leader, was already sitting at one of the folding tables they were using as their desks.
“Where are the others?”
Maddox grunted and glanced at his watch. “It’s seven o’clock in the morning,” he grumbled. “They’re probably still in bed with their wives.” He was typing something on his computer, his irritation palpable. “Which is where I should be too!”
Lex didn’t bother to laugh because it would only piss off their fearless leader. He carried the envelope over to his “desk”, tossing it onto the table. “Well, when Bart finally allows Josephine to come to work, I got this earlier today.”
Maddox stopped typing and looked over at the envelope. “What’s that?”
“The county’s accountant brought that to me earlier today at the coffee shop. She says it’s invoices that don’t look right, but I haven’t looked through them yet.”
“Josephine is in Philly today. She’s doing that training thing with the other FBI tech people.”
Lex chuckled, shaking his head. “She’s training the other hackers on how to hack better and faster, huh?”
“Exactly.”
“That means that Bart had some business in Philly too?”
Maddox shrugg
That called for an eye roll. “You’re getting soft in your old age,” he muttered.
Maddox laughed, not arguing the point.
“So where the hell is Slater?” Lex demanded, referring to the fifth member of their team as he shuffled the papers on his desk.
“He’s taking the day off. He’s been working too many hours lately.”
Lex didn’t comment because it was true. Slater was dedicated and a great agent. But he was also newly engaged and madly in love with his fiancée.
“So are you going to go through those invoices?” Maddox asked, not bothering to look up this time.
Lex glared at the envelope for a long moment, then sighed and nodded as he pulled the package closer. “I’ll see what I can decipher. But you know accountants. They aren’t very good at explaining anything in clear terms.”
Maddox grunted and continued typing.
Lex pulled the papers out of the envelope and started flipping through the documents. After a few minutes, he whistled low, shaking his head.
“What’s up?”
Lex lifted one of the invoices. There was a yellow sticky right in the middle with something written on it. “This woman wrote exactly what she’d done and why each invoice was suspicious. Everything is,” he paused to flip through a few more invoices, “very detailed.”
Maddox chuckled, a sound he never would have made prior to marrying Ashley. She’d brightened his world with her cooking and sweet smiles. To say that Maddox was overly protective of the beauty would be an understatement.
“That’s unusual. We won’t need to get a forensic accountant in to determine which invoices are off and why?”
Lex leaned back in his chair. “Hell no! She’s done all the work already.”
Maddox leaned back as well, crossing his arms over his chest. “Talk to me.”
Lex flipped one invoice around. “This one is for fourteen thousand, two hundred dollars. The details say it’s for road paint.”
Maddox shrugged his massive shoulders dismissively. “That doesn’t seem out of the ordinary.”
Lex flipped it back so that he could read the sticky note. “The accountant says that there haven’t been any road improvements done within the county in the past thirteen months. She even lists out the roads that need repairs and the grant submission numbers that would be used to pay for those road repairs and the expected dates that the grants would be approved or rejected.”
Maddox’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. “That’s extremely detailed.”
Lex picked up another invoice. He read it for a moment, then said, “This one is for twelve hundred dollars and says it’s for bottled water to be given out to the guests at last summer’s spring festival.” His eyes flitted over the sticky note. “The explanation here says that no bottled water was delivered or handed out to the crowds. She goes on to note that water bottles used to be sold by the vendors, but the county installed water fountains for the tourists six years ago along the festival routes, so no bottled water is allowed due to the environmental impact of the single-use plastics.”
Maddox was already leaning forward, his elbows on the table as he nodded. “That’s excellent information. It’s damned nice to not have to figure everything out ourselves.”
Lex agreed. “It also helps us know where to look and who might also be part of DeFila’s scheme.” He flipped another invoice around. “This one details a county clerk, the woman who normally registers births, deaths and marriage licenses issued, who claims to have bought ten thousand pens.”
“Again, that doesn’t seem unusual.”
Lex lifted a finger, indicating that Maddox should wait. “She attached another invoice by another clerk for office supplies and there’s a highlighted line for one hundred pens.” He paused, his eyes narrowing for a moment. “She goes on to write that the county has only ordered a hundred pens each year for the past decade.”
Maddox shook his head. “I don’t think we’ve ever had evidence handed to us in such a detailed fashion before.”
Lex grinned.
“What the hell?” Maddox snapped, his eyes narrowing on his co-worker.
Looking up, Lex glanced around, quickly assessing the area for danger after that exclamation. But it was still just Maddox and Lex in the office. “What’s wrong?”
Maddox laughed, shaking his head in shock. “You like her!”
Instantly, Lex’s features morphed into his normally irritated expression. “What are you talking about?”
“You smiled!” Maddox claimed.
“Who smiled?” Slater asked, walking into the office and slumping down in one of the chairs.
Lex glared at the man. “I thought you were taking the day off!”
Slater blinked, then turned his eyes to Maddox with a raised eyebrow. “What crawled up his ass and wiggled?”
Lex rolled his eyes, but Maddox laughed at the quip. “He’s been hit.”
Slater was still for a moment, then he grinned. “Hell, we’ve all found our partners during this investigation. Is there something in the water around here?”
Lex didn’t bother to respond to that question. “You’re an idiot.” He stood up, stuffing the invoices back into the envelope. “I’m going to work with Ms.…” he paused and pulled out the napkin where she’d written down her contact information, “…Henson, to get more information and organize these invoices so that we can investigate them more efficiently.”
Maddox nodded his head, still grinning as he once again leaned back in his chair. “Sounds like a good plan!” he replied.
Slater watched Lex go, not commenting at all. But as soon as the elevator doors closed on the man, he turned back to Maddox. “What the hell was that all about?”
“The county’s accountant provided a package filled with suspicious invoices. Seems there was more than just DeFilia’s racketeering going on here in Minnow.”
“Invoices?” Slater repeated. “You mean, there are people in town doing something outside of DeFila’s crime ring?” He leaned forward, bracing his hands on the table he was using as a desk. “In addition to all the crap that crime goon put the townspeople through, the three of them were embezzling money too?”
“Looks like it,” Maddox replied. “Or maybe someone else is doing the embezzlement. It might not have anything to do with DeFila’s crap.” He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face as frustration build up. “If it’s a whole different crime, that might be outside of the scope of our investigation. But Lex will look into the evidence and let me know if the embezzlement and racketeering is connected in any way. If not, we’ll turn over the evidence to the county prosecutors for further action. If the evidence shows that the two crimes are related, then we’ll keep the stuff and hand it over to the feds for prosecution.”
“Is that what was in the envelope Lex was carrying?”
“Yeah,” Maddox replied with a sly grin. “And I’m willing to bet the accountant is beautiful.”
Slater finally caught up and grinned. “Hell yes!” he laughed, rubbing his hands together. “Couldn’t happen to a better man!”
They both chuckled because Lex was their friend as well as co-worker. If anyone needed a good woman, it was Lex. The man had hidden demons that a gentle touch might soothe. No one knew what had happened in Lex’s past, but they all knew it was bad. Very bad. But whatever it was, his demons made him a hell of a good investigator.
Chapter 2
Brantlee stared at her computer, her mind unable to focus on the many tasks she needed to finalize today. Quarterly taxes for the county were due in three days. She needed to review the pension plan balances and ensure that none of the retirement accounts for the county employees had been dipped into. She needed to review the bookkeepers’ entries for invoice payments that had been entered yesterday. That and about a thousand other tasks were waiting for her to tackle.
And yet, all she could do was stare at her computer and think about him. About Agent Lex Murdock. She hadn’t expected him to be so tall. Or big! The man’s shoulders were…shocking.
A shiver of awareness fluttered through her, then the expected fear.
Sighing, she pushed a wisp of hair back behind her ears, then turned, blinking in an effort to focus on her job. Glancing at the time, she calculated that she’d wasted about twenty minutes today dreaming about the gruff, taciturn agent.
