Baltimore 03 - Did You Miss Me?

is cold out there,’ he said, wrapping his hands around the mug.
    ‘It can get to fifty below if it wants,’ Alyssa said with a big smile. ‘Ford’s found.’
    It had been a call he would never forget. Daphne had called him first. Even before she’d called Paige. Well, Paige technically knew already because Carter had told Maggie, who’d called Simone and Paige was standing right there. But the thought was sufficient. Her son was safe and Clay’s and Daphne’s friendship was mending.
    He’d been on his way to Philly to speak with the MacGregors when he got the call. He’d cried like a baby and was mostly not ashamed to admit it. ‘Hopefully Daphne will bring him home soon. Hopefully we’ll have found Kim before then.’
    Because the girl has a helluva lot to answer for .
    ‘Did you find out anything from Kim’s parents in Philly today?’ Alyssa asked.
    ‘Not much, but at least it wasn’t a wasted trip. I got the name of Kim’s first roommate at the university. The roommate remembered her getting arrested and the conviction. She went to court with Kim for moral support. She said that a week later Kim met this guy named Doug who made her nervous – the roommate, not Kim.’
    ‘Why did Doug make the roommate nervous?’
    ‘I couldn’t get her to say exactly. I think it had something to do with sex and she wasn’t comfortable talking to me about it.’
    ‘You want me to follow up?’
    He frowned. ‘Yes. I’m not sure why I didn’t just ask you to talk to her to begin with.’
    She patted his knee. ‘You’re still a little rattled from yesterday, big guy. Kim was red hot and ready for revenge after her plea bargain with Daphne and Doug reeled her in like a fish. Eighteen-year-old girls can be so stupid.’
    Clay bit back a smile. ‘So says the twenty-year-old girl.’
    ‘I can’t help being twenty. But at least I’m not stupid.’
    ‘No, you’re not. Talk to the roommate, see what you can find.’
    She started for her desk, then came back to give him a peck on the cheek.
    ‘What was that for?’ he asked gruffly.
    ‘You looked like you could use it,’ she murmured. ‘For what it’s worth, I think Stevie will come around.’
    He tried not to be annoyed with Alyssa for prying. ‘Alec has a big mouth.’
    ‘He never said a word. Didn’t have to. That you would run to her when she woke up was a given. That it didn’t end well is written all over your face.’
    He looked away. ‘Wonderful.’ Then, because he was a fool, he asked, ‘Why do you think she’ll come around?’
    ‘Because she’s not stupid. And I’ve seen how she looks at you.’
    ‘She doesn’t look at me.’
    ‘Oh, yeah, she does. I saw her at the Halloween benefit Daphne did for the center.’
    Stevie had come as Mata Hari and Clay had had a hard-on for days afterward. He got one now, just remembering. Discreetly he lowered his coffee mug to his lap, but not discreetly enough because Alyssa’s eyes sparkled.
    ‘She watched you, Clay, like she wanted to gobble you up. So give her some time.’
    She walked out, but Alec showed up as soon as she was gone. ‘Got something.’
    Clay scooted his chair so that his legs and his lap were under the desk. ‘On what?’
    Alec sat on the edge of his desk as Alyssa had done. ‘Thefts from gun safes. There haven’t been too many and they’re spread out – one each in Maryland, DC, Northern Virginia, eastern Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. After Ford turned up there, I added West Virginia to my search radius. I looked for insurance claims that were either rejected or that resulted in a police inquiry.’
    ‘Not going to ask how you got into the insurance database.’
    ‘That would be wise on your part. I called each person who filed a claim, saying I was an internal auditor for the insurance company and was reopening their case. Two of the four talked to me, both of them were wives of cops. Both had weapons stolen. Neither of them used a cleaning service, but both had A/C work done which included having their ducts cleaned out.’
    Clay sat back, impressed as hell. ‘What’s the name of the company?’
    ‘Two different companies, both legit. But the cops both got a flyer in their mailboxes offering a “special”. The number didn’t belong to the real companies and neither had offered a special. Both said the team that came was a man and a woman. Woman was Kimberly MacGregor. The man fit Doug’s, five-nine, totally average description.’
    Excitement buzzed