Baltimore 03 - Did You Miss Me?

paternity test came in for Marina’s baby. George is the daddy.’
    ‘You’re kidding.’ Joseph shook his head, still trying to shake off the superglue disappointment. ‘I’m really stunned. Speaking of daddies, how much longer do you think we’ll have you in the office? How is Lucy doing?’
    ‘Don’t ask. We’ve been at “any day now” for a week. I’m losing my mind. Brodie and I are headed off to the names on this list. We’ll call when we know anything.’
    ‘Do you have any more questions, Bo?’ Joseph asked, when JD had hung up.
    ‘No, not right now. Daphne, I’m sorry if you were upset with me, but I couldn’t assume you were telling the truth off the bat.’
    ‘Actually you could have,’ Daphne said quietly. ‘The questions would have been much the same, but the way you asked them would have been different. Tell me when to expect the sketch artist. I’ll be happy to try recreating the woman’s face.’
    Good for her , Joseph thought. He’d wanted to charge to her aid with Bo, but she’d handled herself with dignity. ‘If there’s nothing else, we’re adjourned. We’ll regroup by phone at noon.’ He turned to McManus and Kerr. ‘Tell us what you need and we’ll support you. You have the necessary resources to find Mark the gas man.’
    ‘Assuming he’s still alive,’ McManus cautioned. ‘And if he is, that he knows what the hell we’re talking about.’
    Agent Kerr took a map from his briefcase. ‘This is the area we covered last night with the canine teams, tracking Ford’s path. Maybe it’ll jog his memory.’
    ‘Or maybe he has invoices or an old file of clients,’ Daphne said. ‘The company might still have route records. Let’s find him first and see what happens.’
    When Kerr and McManus moved off to the side to plan, Joseph turned to Deacon. ‘I’m impressed with how you brought that memory out of Daphne’s mind.’
    Deacon shrugged. ‘We’ll see how impressive it is when we find him. If it’s okay with you, I’m going to catch a little more sleep. I take over for Hector at noon, standing watch over Ford.’
    ‘Thank you, Agent Novak,’ Daphne said quietly. ‘For watching over my son.’
    He smiled at her. ‘He’s a good kid. Who feels terrible about the way he treated you last night, by the way. He told me to tell you that. I think he could use a visit.’
    ‘I’ll go as soon as Joseph can free up someone to go over with me. And don’t volunteer,’ she said when Deacon started to do just that. ‘I want you to be alert and rested in case Beckett comes after Ford again. Go to sleep, Agent Novak.’
    When he was gone, Joseph leaned in closer to her. ‘Why didn’t you tell me you had the certificate in your purse?’
    ‘I really didn’t find it until after you’d left my room. I had a nightmare the night before last but Kate was there and I didn’t want to show her the certificate I have hidden at home. I didn’t know any of this was connected to Beckett then or I would have told her.’
    ‘But when I came to get you and told you Bo was suspicious, why not then?’
    ‘You needed to be surprised in front of the others, I thought. Genuinely surprised. Otherwise they’d start doubting your objectivity. Bo did, didn’t he?’
    Joseph had no intention of answering that question. ‘I need to brief Hector. If you’re ready to go, I’ll take you with me and you can visit Ford.’
    She regarded him for a moment, head slightly tilted. ‘Five out of ten.’
    ‘Excuse me?’
    ‘Your score. For diverting me from my question. If you want to improve, watch your father with your mother. He’s a smooth diverter. I’m sorry Bo gave you a hard time.’
    ‘He’s just annoyed because the raid on the Russians was a bust.’
    She smiled. ‘That was an eight out of ten.’
    ‘I’d give you the same score – for putting off the confrontation with your son,’ he said and watched her eyes flicker. ‘Come on, Daphne. Your son loves you. Let’s go see him.’
    Baltimore, Maryland, Thursday, December 5, 10.30 A.M.
    Cole woke to find everything dark. But not pitch dark. More a hazy dark, like peeking through a blanket.
    Reality returned in an icy wave. That’s because I’m under a blanket . And not just one. Based on the weight that covered him, he was under at least two, maybe three of the fuckers. And he was tied. Hands behind his back, ankles crossed. He tried to open his mouth and couldn’t.
    Kimberly . The shovel. And . . . duct tape.