Baltimore 03 - Did You Miss Me?

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    ‘Doug is a white male, approximately thirty years old. He’s intelligent and cunning. Proud of his cleverness. He enjoys predicting the behaviors of others and planning for contingencies. He probably graduated high school. Likely no college. His interest in weapons could indicate military service. It might be that he just wishes he were a soldier. If he was in the military, his service record is not blemished but probably not distinguished.’ She hesitated. ‘He’s been abused. He may have done time.’
    ‘What makes you say that?’ Joseph asked.
    ‘He has a pathological need to control the lives of others. Somehow he knows about Daphne’s abduction. He’s abducted Ford, very elaborately. He wants to make Daphne hurt. He went out of his way to kidnap Pamela MacGregor to force her sister’s hand. This man has had all the control taken from him at some point in his life. Probably from a young age. He’s taking power back.’
    ‘But why?’
    ‘Million dollar question. He blames Daphne for something deep.’
    ‘She checked to see if she’d prosecuted him. If any part of his name is “Doug”, then she hasn’t.’
    ‘This is more than a hard-nose prosecutor offering a lousy deal. Doug lost something, or someone. This kind of intensity . . . it’s hard to maintain. Exhausting. I think somebody died and he blames Daphne.’
    Joseph drew a breath. Nodded. ‘Okay. At least we’ll know how to narrow it down.’
    ‘One more thing. The very absence of Google hits means something.’
    ‘This is no casual Web surfer,’ Joseph said grimly. ‘Doug has information that I don’t have.’ Because I haven’t asked. That will change, first thing in the morning .
    ‘When Daphne tells you the story, you need to find out who else would be privy to that information. Joseph, be careful. This man doesn’t give a rat’s ass about collateral damage.’
    Joseph thought of the dead au pair. Of Isaac Zacharias. And all the others who’d been killed or injured by this man and his cohorts. ‘I will.’ He leaned forward, kissed his sister on the cheek. ‘I’ll keep you apprised. Thanks, Zoe.’
    Marston, West Virginia, Wednesday, December 4, 1.30 A.M.
    Ford Elkhart was nicer than I would have been . The kid had closed the door to Wilson Beckett’s cabin and hadn’t turned off the heat after stripping Beckett naked earlier. I would have let him freeze to death .
    Mitch rolled his shoulders, preparing to deliver a Grade A rant. He threw the door open. ‘What the fucking hell happened? Where’s the kid?’
    ‘Close the goddamn door,’ Beckett gritted. ‘And untie me.’
    He slammed the door and stalked over, wincing at the sight of Beckett’s bony ass. ‘What happened?’ he repeated, opening and closing drawers. ‘Where are your knives?’
    ‘Asshole kid took ’em all.’
    Mitch took his keys from his pocket and sawed at the twine. Ford had done well here, tying the twine so tight that it had dug into Beckett’s skin. The twine snapped and Beckett’s shoulders sagged forward.
    ‘The knives aren’t all he took. He stole your truck, too. I found it on the side of the road, out of gas. I towed it back for you.’
    He cut the twine at Beckett’s ankles, then moved out of the way quickly. A wise decision as Beckett rolled over, swinging his fist where his face had been seconds before. Hitting air, Beckett flopped onto his back like a fish.
    Now that’s nasty . The front view was far worse than the back. He grabbed a blanket from the bed and tossed it over Beckett’s crotch. ‘How long ago did he escape?’
    Beckett didn’t answer, slowly pushing himself to his feet to search through the drawer that had held ammo for his rifle. ‘Where’s my ammo?’
    ‘I don’t know.’ Which was totally untrue. He hadn’t wanted Ford shot while trying to escape, so he’d emptied all the ammo boxes the night before. ‘Maybe the kid took it.’
    Beckett’s eyes narrowed. ‘My gun was unloaded.’
    ‘You tried to shoot the kid?’
    ‘No, he tried to shoot me.’
    ‘While he was escaping?’
    Beckett’s face reddened. ‘Yes.’
    Mitch was impressed with Ford, although he didn’t let it show. He scowled at Beckett. ‘Wonderful. I suppose he took your gun and the ammo with him.’
    ‘He said the boxes were empty.’
    ‘He wanted to escape . He would have said anything. You’ve got one helluva knot on your head. Did he knock you out?’ Which Mitch knew had happened. He’d seen it on the