Baltimore 03 - Did You Miss Me?

bodyguard?’
    ‘No. Daphne tried to get him to agree to have one, but the kid is stubborn. She started getting threats and—’
    ‘What kind of threats?’ Joseph demanded. ‘From whom?’
    ‘Violent threats. You-have-to-sleep-sometime threats. Isn’t-that-son-of-yours-a-handsome-young-man threats. I’m certain they came from the family of the murderer she’s prosecuting. Millhouse. I have to tell her.’
    ‘No, you don’t. Let us handle this.’
    Maynard glared. ‘This is my business, Carter. My employee. My friend. My goddamn responsibility.’
    ‘I know,’ Joseph said quietly, knowing he was dealing with a man on the edge of control. I’d react the same way . And he had. ‘And you have my word that I’ll respect that. But this is my case and you’re going to have to trust me. I know my job.’
    ‘Wait. You’re Homeland. You’re out of your jurisdiction. Why is this your case?’
    Joseph wasn’t surprised Maynard had known he’d been Homeland Security. He did have to admit to being a bit surprised – and impressed – with his brother’s fiancée’s discretion. Paige hadn’t mentioned his transfer to her own partner. Good to know .
    ‘I’m VCET now. FBI/local task force.’
    ‘I know what VCET is,’ Maynard said, jaw clenched. ‘And for the record, I trust Feds about as much as I trust most cops. Which is about nil.’
    ‘Look, you’re standing here talking to me and not cuffed because my brother trusts you. And because he does, I’ll explain how this is. Before Homeland, this is what I did – finding missing people and killers. If you don’t trust me, you’ll have to trust Grayson.’
    Maynard said nothing, so Joseph tried a different tack. ‘Clay, Isaac was your friend. You’re not objective. You know it’s true.’
    ‘And you’d step aside if you were me?’
    No . If somebody killed someone I cared about, I’d find the sonofabitch and kill him with my bare hands . And he had. And he wasn’t sorry. It was remembering . . . no, savoring the sound of the neck he’d snapped all those years ago that got him through the nightmares, then and now. And the loneliness. Then and now.
    A flutter at the corner of his eye caught Joseph’s attention and he barely stifled his groan. A man stood in the alley entry, his snow-white hair and goatee sharply contrasting with his bronzed face. His black leather trenchcoat whipped in the wind and wraparound sunglasses covered his eyes. His hand rested on his holstered gun as he assessed the situation, looking like a freaky cross between a sun-bleached Blade and Wyatt Earp.
    Maynard followed his gaze, stiffening. ‘What the hell is that ?’
    A pain in my ass . ‘ Special Agent Deacon Novak.’ Joseph looked back at Maynard. ‘Are you going to let me handle this? Ford’s life could depend on it.’
    ‘For now,’ Maynard said evenly.
    ‘Fair enough.’ Maynard’s concession would do. For now. ‘Let’s get to work.’

Chapter Two
    Tuesday, December 3, 10.18 A.M.
    F rozen, Daphne watched Cindy Millhouse clear the bar like it was a track-and-field hurdle. Then her reflexes kicked in and Daphne was on her feet, her left arm swinging up, deflecting Cindy’s fingers. Not the hair . You’re not touching my hair .
    She grabbed Cindy’s wrist, struggling to keep the woman’s sharp fingernails away from her face. From the direction of the defense table came a loud crash and Cindy’s eyes flickered with satisfaction, her nails inching closer.
    Then Cindy was yanked away and forced to the floor. Grayson glanced up, his face hard with fury. ‘Are you all right?’ he asked as he restrained Cindy – an effort even for him, a guy who could bench press a small truck. Reggie’s mother was in wildcat mode.
    Daphne nodded unsteadily. The defense’s table had been overturned – the crash she’d heard. Edward Ellis, Reggie’s attorney, lay on the floor, his foot pinned by the table. Stunned, Ellis stared up at his client who grappled with the courtroom deputy. Reggie’s arm was locked around Deputy Welch’s throat as he grabbed for Welch’s gun. For a horrified moment Daphne thought Reggie might succeed in getting it, but Welch threw his head back, cracking his skull into Reggie’s face. The deputy broke free as five more uniforms charged through the gate. Four ran to subdue Reggie while the fifth veered off to assist Grayson.
    Daphne had started to back away when she saw Deputy Welch crawling back toward the overturned defense