Baltimore 03 - Did You Miss Me?

there today . He turned to look at her. ‘He was there today. Setting all this up. Manipulating us.’ And then a puzzle piece dropped into place in his mind. ‘He wanted us to find that house, that “crime scene”, just like he wanted us to find that alley with the backpack.’
    Daphne’s eyes narrowed. ‘He lured us to the alley with the text from Ford’s phone.’
    ‘Why else would he text you at that moment, from that place? He had to know we’d trace the location the text was sent from. He wanted us to find the plastic support plate with George’s fingerprints all over it.’
    ‘A tidy link,’ Brodie said, ‘from George to the knife to the murder of Zacharias and the abduction of Ford.’
    Daphne’s brows knit. ‘But didn’t Doug think that George would mention him?’
    ‘I think he believed he’d taken care of that,’ Brodie said. ‘Joseph, what if that neighbor hadn’t seen this Doug person through the window with her binoculars? What would you be thinking right now?’
    ‘That George was lying,’ Joseph said. ‘And I’d be madder than hell that he sent me to that house to check for his baby, considering the booby trap he’d left behind.’
    Daphne looked from him to Brodie. ‘What booby trap?’
    ‘The nursery door was rigged,’ Joseph said. ‘If I’d barged in like I’d wanted to . . .’
    ‘You’d be dead.’ Brodie turned to Daphne. ‘The shotgun blast took out a wall.’
    Most of the color that had returned to her face drained away again. ‘Joseph, I’m . . . Oh, dear Lord. This is because of me. He’s taunting me. You could have been killed.’
    ‘Don’t even think it,’ he said harshly. ‘I was cautious and I’m not dead. But I would be thinking that George had lured me into a trap.’
    ‘We’d disregard everything George told us,’ Daphne said. ‘Including the existence of Doug. We’d have charged the Millhouses with the murder of Zacharias and the abduction of Ford.’ She’d grown more shaken as she spoke. ‘We never would have pursued Doug. We’d have kept following Millhouse leads to look for Ford, diverting us from where he really is. Oh my God.’
    ‘But we do know Doug really exists,’ Joseph soothed. ‘We won’t be diverted.’
    ‘You’re right,’ Daphne murmured, visibly regaining control of herself. ‘Doug has made this personal. I wonder if I’ve prosecuted him before.’
    She’s one hell of an amazing woman , Joseph thought, admiring her ability to think under circumstances like these. ‘It’s a distinct possibility. A witness says he claimed to be twenty-nine. Maybe you can go through your files for anyone that you either convicted or dealt that would match his age and “ordinary” appearance. Hopefully I’ll have a photo for you in a few hours.’
    ‘I’ll start looking through my files right away. But first, since it wasn’t Ford’s blood, whose blood did you find, Dr Brodie?’
    ‘I don’t know. I’ve submitted samples for PCR analysis, so we’ll have DNA profiles by tomorrow. I also submitted a sample of the baby’s DNA, just so we’ll know paternity.’
    ‘How old was the crime scene in the basement?’
    ‘A few hours, maybe. The blood pooled on the floor had started to congeal around the edges. The blood on the wall had already dried, but it had been applied thinly.’
    Daphne contemplated the watch. ‘My ex-husband has Type B negative blood. And he wears his Rolex every single day. I called him an hour ago to give him an update on Ford, but he didn’t answer. I didn’t think anything about it because he rarely answers me right away. B negative is a fairly rare type. Was it B negative?’
    ‘Yes, it was, actually.’
    ‘We’ll get someone out to his house to check,’ Joseph said.
    ‘Maybe this is about Travis,’ she said. ‘He’s pissed off people in his career. If the Millhouses are a diversion, maybe whoever took Ford is trying to get back at Travis.’
    Brodie tilted her head. ‘What does your ex-husband do?’
    ‘He’s a judge, district court in Loudoun County. You’re frowning, Joseph. Why?’
    ‘Because there was a message, written on the wall. “Now you know how it feels. ” ’
    Daphne let out a breath. ‘What Cindy said to me. But she’s in jail. If this was done a few hours ago . . . We’re back to Doug. What about Kimberly? What blood type is she?’
    ‘I’m still waiting on her medical records,’ Brodie said, ‘but the blood I found in the alley near her car