Baltimore 03 - Did You Miss Me?

Beckett has a man-cave in the basement with a sixty-inch TV, a pool table, and a keg.’ Kerr sighed. ‘And an entire wall of little cubbies, like you’d see at a post office. Lots of purses, jewelry, personal effects. We’ll be out here for a very long time and that doesn’t even start to cover the possible graves.’
    As a group they looked past the cabin to the field behind it.
    Twenty-three victims unaccounted for , Daphne thought bleakly.
    Joseph cleared his throat and she knew he was thinking the same thing. ‘Deacon, would you mind telling Ciccotelli that the coast is clear for his wife to start mapping the property? We need to find Beckett’s victims and send them home.’
    ‘Sure. I’d like to stay while she’s mapping, if that’s okay with you, Kerr.’
    ‘We’d welcome the help,’ Kerr said. ‘I’ll be here at first light. Let me know if Ciccotelli’s wife needs anything and we’ll have it available.’
    ‘Agent Kerr,’ Daphne said, ‘Doug had a diary that had belonged to his mother. It’s in the garage. Can I get a copy once you’ve entered it into evidence? I’d like to read it.’
    ‘I think you’ve earned at least that,’ Kerr said kindly. ‘I’ll get it for you.’
    Deacon clasped Ford’s shoulder. ‘Come on, kid. I’ll take you back to the hospital.’
    ‘No,’ Ford said. ‘I just want to go home. Mom?’
    ‘If you promise to get checked out when we get home,’ she said. ‘I don’t want any complications from frostbite or the drugs that Doug gave you.’
    Ford nodded wearily. ‘I will. I promise.’
    ‘Then let’s go home.’

Chapter Twenty-Eight
    Baltimore, Maryland, Friday, December 6, 8.30 A.M.
    H is team looked, Joseph thought, like victims of a shipwreck, emotionally bedraggled and physically exhausted. They’d filed into the conference room to debrief, their usual chatter subdued.
    He and Daphne had driven in together, which was nice. They’d rolled back into Baltimore late the night before. Ford had gone straight to bed, saying very little.
    Now that all the danger was past, Ford still had to deal with Kimberly’s betrayal. But for today he planned to sleep in and be spoiled by Simone and Maggie.
    Joseph had already been spoiled a little by Daphne. Waking up with her body nestled against his had been like heaven, the morning sex quietly profound. Afterward he’d just held her and couldn’t imagine letting her go.
    When she’d come out of her closet, she’d been dressed in the lime green suit she’d worn the day he’d met her. He hadn’t been sure if she’d done that on purpose or if she’d picked the first suit in her closet – until she’d passed him a basket of muffins at breakfast with a demure little wink. And then he remembered telling her that the first day they’d met he’d been eating her muffins while secretly thinking about eating her alive. Now he couldn’t look at that suit without his mouth watering.
    Tonight. As soon as we’re done here  . . . he’d take her home and show her exactly what he’d been thinking about that day, nine months before.
    But for now, there was debriefing to do. Joseph was more than ready to put this case behind him. He rapped the table and what little chatter there was ceased.
    ‘Good morning,’ he said. ‘Let’s start with the hospital report. JD?’
    ‘Pamela MacGregor is stable,’ JD said. ‘Doug kept her sedated, so the days she spent in Doug’s basement storeroom will mostly be a blur, which is merciful. If she’d been found much later it could have been very serious. Stevie is being moved from ICU to a regular room today which is very good news. We’re not sure how long she’ll be on disability. Deputy Welch is doing very well. He should be going home soon.’
    ‘What about Mike, the cameraman?’ Daphne asked.
    ‘Stable. He’ll be in the hospital a lot longer, but he’s out of the woods.’
    ‘I have a list of fatalities,’ Joseph said. ‘Marina killed Officer Winn and was in turn killed by Stevie Mazzetti. Doug murdered Isaac Zacharias, Elmarie Stoddard, Richard Odum and his wife and was in turn killed by Detective McManus, Agent Coppola, and myself. Beckett . . . ’ He sighed. ‘The two men he attacked at the Wheeling hospital – the officer in Ford’s room and the nurse whose credentials he stole – both died yesterday.’
    ‘Oh no,’ Daphne said softly.
    ‘I’m afraid so. We don’t know how many victims he has in total, but we’re going to assume