Baltimore 03 - Did You Miss Me?

Ciccotelli.’
    ‘Excellent,’ Ciccotelli said with satisfaction. ‘Thank you.’
    ‘What was Zacharias’s cause of death?’ Joseph asked.
    ‘Official cause of death was asphyxiation,’ Quartermaine said.
    ‘ What ?’ Clay sounded stunned. ‘He was strangled?’
    ‘Yes, but chemically, not manually. As I said, he was given a cocktail of fentanyl and ketamine, after being tased. The taser jolt incapacitates for thirty seconds at the most. Fentanyl is a fast acting narcotic – within thirty seconds, but it doesn’t last that long. Ketamine kicks in before the fentanyl wears off and lasts thirty to ninety minutes, depending on the dose. He was tased twice, then injected with the fentanyl into a vein. The ketamine was given intra-muscularly.’ He said the last sentence with a frown.
    ‘So how did he asphyxiate?’ Clay asked through the speaker.
    ‘Laryngospasm. It’s a side effect of the ketamine. The vocal cords spasm and slam shut, blocking the airway. It’s seen in operating rooms where ketamine is used as an anesthetic, but not often. Because the patient is monitored in the OR, his head would be repositioned, opening the airway. But this victim wasn’t repositioned because he wasn’t monitored. In more than two-thirds of the cases the ketamine is given intramuscularly, which was the case with this victim. It was a perfect storm – everything went exactly wrong. The victim would have been dead within seven to ten minutes.’ Quartermaine paused to stare at Daphne. ‘Miss? Are you all right?’
    Daphne was white as chalk and for the second time that night Joseph wanted to kick his own ass. You just let her sit there, listening to what happened to Zacharias, knowing the same drugs were given to her son . And what was Quartermaine thinking?
    He wasn’t , Joseph realized. Quartermaine had come in at the end of the introductions. He didn’t know he’d been talking to the abductee’s mother.
    He opened his mouth to explain when Daphne managed a strained smile.
    ‘I’m okay. You came in after introductions and this is a very special situation. I’m Daphne Montgomery, State’s Attorney’s office. Ford Elkhart is my son.’
    Quartermaine’s mouth dropped open. ‘Oh my God. I’m sorry.’
    ‘It’s all right,’ Daphne said, her persona having changed before their eyes. Her voice had dropped a few notes and smoothed. Her posture changed, her body becoming more . . . zen. ‘How could you have known?’
    She’d become the woman he’d met in Grayson’s house nine months ago, cool, composed, collected. His Daphne was bold and inviting. This woman . . . wasn’t. He glanced at Grayson, saw that his brother was staring at her too. With the exception of Quartermaine, everyone around the table had noticed.
    Hector Rivera scribbled a note and passed it down to Joseph. She spoke with this same voice when she told her ex that Ford was missing and again when she talked about her cousin’s abduction . Does she even know she does it?
    Damn good question , Joseph thought. Then, it was like a switch flipped in his brain. Would she change like that during sex? He shifted in his chair, suddenly erect. Oh for God’s sake , he thought, disgusted with himself. Not now . With an effort, he pushed the mental image to the side and focused.
    ‘Still, I’m sorry,’ Quartermaine was saying to her. ‘Now you’re wondering if the same thing happened to Ford. And the answer is, no.’
    Her brows lifted, elegantly. ‘No, definitely? Or no, in your opinion?’
    He hesitated, a little rattled. ‘Both. Look, Mrs Montgomery—’
    ‘Miss,’ she interrupted. ‘It’s “Miss”.’
    Quartermaine drew a deep breath. ‘Okay. Miss Montgomery. First, Ford fought him. We found his blood in the alley, but only enough to indicate he’d have a nasty bump. He couldn’t have fought if he’d had the same reaction as Officer Zacharias.’
    She nodded. ‘Thank you, Dr Quartermaine.’
    ‘Neil,’ he said, still flustered. ‘Please.’
    ‘If you call me Daphne,’ she said. She made no mention of the way she’d just changed, but her cheeks flushed and Joseph knew she was very aware.
    The speaker phone crackled. ‘Excuse me. This is Clay Maynard. Officer Zacharias was working in an off-duty capacity for me.’
    ‘Hell,’ Quartermaine muttered, looking like he’d rather be anywhere but where he was. ‘I’m sorry, Mr Maynard. I didn’t know you were acquainted with the victim.’
    ‘It’s okay,’ Clay