Baltimore 03 - Did You Miss Me?

started . . . Daphne swallowed the lump in her throat. ‘That was so sweet of her.’
    ‘Although I think she’ll be more proud when I tell her about that fancy blocking. I didn’t realize you’d gotten so good.’
    ‘She kept drilling me with that one move. “Keep your hands up, ” ’ Daphne mimicked. ‘“You want to protect that beehive of yours? Then keep your damn hands up”.’
    Grayson chuckled. ‘You mean the beehive you used to have. I’m glad she taught you so well, but I have to say that I do not miss the beehive.’
    Daphne had retired her trademark hairdo when she’d accepted the promotion into Grayson’s old job as lead prosecutor the spring before. Before, she’d sat second chair, taking notes, preparing briefs. Preparing witnesses to sit on the stand, to address the jury. Now, she addressed the jury, and their focus needed to be on her arguments and not her big hair. ‘I guess Cindy coming at my hair triggered my protective instincts.’
    ‘Then I’ll never diss your hair again,’ he promised. ‘Ready for the cameras?’
    ‘Hell no. I am not facing the press looking like I was just in a barroom brawl. Give me a few minutes to put myself back together.’ And to call my son .
    Hearing Ford’s voice would dispel some of the fear that churned in her gut. It was time to tell him that he had a bodyguard. It didn’t matter if he didn’t want one, because as long as Cindy and her clan were a threat, he’d have one. It was non-negotiable.
    Marston, West Virginia, Tuesday, December 3, 10.20 A.M.
    Ford’s nose burned, his eyes watered. So cold . Shithead chem majors left the window open again . Gonna kick their—
    Awareness abruptly returned. The floor was hard and he was freezing. This wasn’t his dorm and the chem majors were not doing another lab in the communal kitchen.
    I’m still tied . Still blindfolded . Still gagged . But the smell was new. He drew a breath through his nose and tried to keep from throwing up. Something had died. Kim .
    No . His mind immediately rejected it. Whatever had died was decomposing. Long dead. Not Kim . So calm down before your head explodes .
    The throbbing pain in his skull had been joined by another new sensation – his scalp burned. He grabbed my hair last night . It felt like he’d yanked out a handful.
    Who was that guy? He blocked the pain and concentrated on what he’d said. ‘ I’m back . Did you miss me? ’ The memory of that mocking, singsongy tone made Ford’s skin crawl. Do I know him? There was something familiar, but he couldn’t think what.
    Keep going . Come back to him later . Think back before the creepy guy . What happened before that? The alley. He’d heard Kim’s scream. His stomach twisted.
    Don’t think about what they’re doing to her now . But he was. Every sick thing he’d ever read in the news flew through his mind. Please be all right . Please .
    Concentrate . They’d been walking to her car and there was a noise. A sharp crack . Like a gun, but not as loud . And then every nerve in Ford’s body had fired.
    Shit . Sonofabitch tased me . Then hit my head . Then drugged me . Suddenly he remembered the needle after ‘ Did you miss me? ’ The sonofabitch had drugged him twice! He needed to have a plan before the SOB came back to make it three times.
    Sitting up, Ford scooted on his ass in a circle until he saw light through the blindfold. A window .
    He twisted his body, finally rising to his knees and crawling until he felt a slight warming of the floor that was in the direct path of the sun streaming through the window. Lifting his chin, he felt the sun on his face and held still for a few seconds, absorbing a little warmth before continuing. He’d barely moved a foot more when the floor grew cold once again. Dammit . The window’s high and small .
    He crawled until he hit the wall. It was cold against his cheek. Textured. Concrete block . Not good . Concrete would be hard to break through.
    Ignoring the pain at the back of his head, he rubbed his temple against the wall, vigorously working the blindfold until finally he was free. He could see! Yes .
    He was in a garage, about twenty feet square. Behind a stack of firewood was a garage door. But it hadn’t been used for years if the rusty chains securing it were any indication. Heavy padlocks hung from the chains. Not a way out .
    Ford looked up. Dammit . The window was five feet above the ground and not even big enough for a toddler to escape