Baltimore 03 - Did You Miss Me?

hand cream.
    Abruptly she slid off the bed and walked into her bathroom, feeling like a marionette on a string. From the side of her tub she plucked the sweater she’d last worn to the barn and buried her face in the soft wool. Inhaling deeply, she pretended she was in the barn, with the horses. Slowly, slowly, the panic began to subside.
    She looked up and saw Coppola standing just outside the bathroom door, watching her with a puzzled frown. Annoyance mixed with embarrassment. ‘I’m all right.’
    Coppola said nothing and even though Daphne knew it was a ploy to get her to fill the silence, she couldn’t seem to help herself. ‘It’s the barn,’ she said. ‘I’m calmer when I go to the barn. Like . . . stress therapy.’
    ‘I personally am into scented candles, but hey, whatever floats your boat.’
    ‘Scented candles make me sneeze. Look, can we keep this to ourselves? People will think I have some weird fetish, going around sniffing barn clothes.’
    ‘Of course, although it’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s a little different, I give you that, but a helluva lot healthier than a lot of ways people let off steam. A lot of cops could take a page from your notebook.’
    ‘Who?’ Daphne asked, because the woman looked lost.
    Coppola shrugged. ‘Your dad left. My dad stayed. Impact much the same.’
    ‘He was a cop?’
    ‘Oh yeah. Still is. When he had his own nightmare, he drank. Still does.’
    ‘I’m sorry, Kate,’ Daphne said softly.
    ‘Thanks.’ Brusquely, she held up the cards. ‘You ready to play?’
    ‘Sure.’
    Wednesday, December 4, 1.10 A.M.
    ‘Joseph?’ The muffled greeting was accompanied by a soft knock.
    Joseph swung his gaze from his laptop to the back door in his parents’ kitchen where his middle sister Zoe had her face pressed against the glass.
    He opened the door and she ran in, stomping her feet. ‘Cold, cold.’
    He stared at her legs. ‘You’re wearing shorts. In the snow.’
    ‘I was rock climbing.’
    ‘After midnight? In the snow?’
    ‘Not in the snow. In the gym.’ She shrugged. ‘Gym’s open 24/7 and my date works nights. I was on my way out of a workday and he was on his way in. We meet in the middle.’ She sat at the table and pointed to the bottle of wine. ‘Please?’
    He poured her a glass while she blew on her fingers. ‘Where are your gloves, Zo?’
    She shrugged again, sheepishly. ‘Gave them away.’
    And that was Zoe in a nutshell. He loved all three of his sisters, but Zoe was the one he felt most comfortable with. Lisa was older, bossier. She’d kept them in line growing up. Holly was the baby and he’d always taken care of her.
    But he and Zoe had always been tight. Two years between them, they’d grown up in step. He’d gone to the Naval Academy and she’d followed in his footsteps. He’d joined the Bureau, she’d become a psychologist with DC police. And when he’d come home from his final deployment, and the nightmares had kept him awake for days, she was the one he’d called and she’d always known what he needed.
    Sometimes advice. Sometimes companionable silence. Sometimes a punishing hike or a run. She’d been there for him as he worked through his grief over Jo.
    Joseph prayed that he never had to return the favor. The thought of any of his sisters being hurt, having their hearts ripped apart . . . he’d move heaven and earth to spare them.
    She took off her coat and Joseph shook his head. In addition to the bike shorts, she wore a tank top and rock climbing boots, her auburn hair pulled into a plain-Jane ponytail that was as much Zoe’s trademark as Daphne’s big hair was hers.
    ‘Where is everyone?’ she asked.
    Joseph tugged on Zoe’s ponytail as he took the seat beside her, moving his laptop out of her way. ‘It’s after one. Everyone’s in bed.’
    She grimaced. ‘Sorry I’m late. That snow is coming down. Took me twice as long to get up here from Bethesda. Visibility sucked.’
    ‘No problem. I was working.’ He’d been trying to search for anything on Daphne’s abduction, twenty-seven years before. But he’d come up completely empty. He didn’t have enough information to request specific newspaper clippings and the local paper wasn’t archived on line that far back. ‘Did you have a nice date?’ he asked her.
    ‘It was fun.’
    ‘Mm. Who’s the guy?’
    ‘A cop. His name is Jim. Very nice guy, but just a time passer.’ Zoe pushed one of the wineglasses across the table. ‘You