Baltimore 03 - Did You Miss Me?

scream still ringing in his ears, Joseph threw open the door and ran the length of the hall to Ford’s room, where there was chaos.
    The uniformed officer who’d been on guard duty was on the floor, bleeding profusely, a knife imbedded in his gut. A nurse knelt beside him, already doing first aid.
    Daphne stood beside Ford’s bed, shielding him with her body. Her eyes were wide and filled with abject fear as she pointed to the door. ‘Scrubs. He’s wearing scrubs. Old man, gray hair. Six feet, maybe. Hector followed him.’
    Joseph took off again, looking over his shoulder. Deacon was behind him, laptop under his arm, shoving his feet into his shoes as he ran. ‘Deacon, pull up hospital security video. Get a description, put out a BOLO.’ He drew his weapon and pointed to McManus. ‘Let’s go.’
    He entered the nearest stairwell, taking the steps three at a time. He heard a door slam below and ran faster, blowing through the exterior door in time to see a white truck peeling out of the parking lot. Hector had started to chase the truck on foot but had given up and was running back.
    By the time Joseph got to his car, the truck would have been on the interstate already. McManus ran past him, carried by the momentum of running down the stairs.
    ‘I got his license plate.’ Hector called and, breathing hard, recited it to McManus.
    ‘Call it in,’ Joseph said. ‘White truck, taillights looked like a Suburban.’
    McManus nodded. ‘Dispatch, this is Detective McManus.’
    Joseph turned a slow circle, searching the parking lot as McManus put out the BOLO, eyes narrowing at the sight of a car with its trunk partially open. He ran over to find the car’s tire flat and blood spattered on the hubcap. A cell phone lay on the ground about ten feet away. Another slow turn had Joseph’s racing heart sinking.
    Against the building was a dumpster. From behind it extended a bare arm. Again he ran. The arm was attached to a man, stripped down to his briefs. Blood had pooled beneath his head and torso, the latter the result of a stab wound that had split the man’s abdomen wide open.
    Joseph knelt, pressing his fingers to the man’s throat. ‘He’s still alive, barely. Hector, run upstairs and get a doctor. They’ll need something to stop the bleeding.’
    McManus ran up, phone in hand. ‘I called Dispatch and they’re calling the ER. They should have someone here in a minute.’ Then McManus sighed. ‘That’s Billy Pratchett, a guy I went to school with. He’s a nurse here.’ He nodded to Joseph. ‘I’ll wait with him. You go check on Ms Montgomery.’
    ‘Thanks.’ Joseph made his way back up the stairs, more slowly than he’d come down. What the hell is going on here? He walked back to Ford’s room, where things seemed more under control. The uniformed officer must have been taken to another room, because he wasn’t there.
    Ford was awake and sitting up, peering at his mother through bloodshot eyes.
    Daphne sat in a chair, her back to him. Her wig gone. Curls . Her head was covered in tight blond curls. But she wasn’t looking at him now. She was staring at her hands. Joseph imagined that this wasn’t the way she’d envisioned laying herself bare. So to speak.
    Why ever would she want to cover up curls like that? His hands itched to touch her, but he stayed where he was, in the doorway. Later he could touch all he wanted.
    ‘ Are you all right?’ she asked quietly. ‘Did you find him?’
    ‘No, but we did find a nurse named Pratchett. It looks like he was attacked for his clothing and ID badge. Detective McManus is with him now. We got a BOLO out on the man and his vehicle. Now, please tell me what happened here. Where is the uniformed officer who was here before?’
    ‘He was taken to surgery,’ Daphne said. ‘I wondered how the intruder got in. I guess now I know.’
    She still hadn’t looked at him. ‘Daphne, what happened?’ He touched her shoulder. ‘Talk to me.’
    ‘Hector got here right after I did and we went to get a cup of coffee,’ she said. ‘I thought Ford would be all right with an armed guard. When we came back, the officer was standing guard and the door was closed. He said a nurse had come in to give Ford a new IV. But a nurse had just finished doing that. I pushed at the door, but the old man had put a chair across it. I could see him through the window.’ Her voice shook and big tears plopped onto the hands she’d twisted in her lap. ‘He had a pillow over