Baltimore 03 - Did You Miss Me?

asked me to make sure your mother knows you’re okay.’
    ‘Oh. That’s sweet. Ford, too? He’ll be worried sick. Ask him to walk Tasha for me.’
    ‘You bet,’ JD said lightly, but his mouth was grim.
    ‘Who’s Tasha?’ Joseph asked.
    ‘My dog,’ she said against his coat.
    ‘Protection dog,’ JD mouthed. ‘Fucking huge.’
    Which meant that any agents who went to search the house should be prepared.
    ‘You took down Bill Millhouse,’ she said, still not looking up. ‘What happened?’
    ‘He left the courtroom before everyone else and I knew he was up to no good. We got the Turner kids out and I saw Bill skulking around. Followed him, found his stash. In the trunk of his car he had ten more assault rifles. He’d planned something big.’
    ‘Dear God,’ Daphne mumbled. ‘This is craziness.’
    ‘I need to get her to the ER,’ Joseph said, pointing at the reporters who were venturing towards them, now that the bullets had stopped flying. ‘I’ll keep you updated.’
    Tuesday, December 3, 11.40 A.M.
    That stupid little bitch . Mitch stared at the television screen in stunned disbelief. He’d known Marina Craig was a wild card. But ... the girl was fucking nuts.
    Luckily enough, she was now fucking dead. She’d come seconds away from ruining everything. Be glad you’re dead . If you’d killed Montgomery, I would have killed you myself . And I would have made it hurt a hell of a lot more .
    The video wasn’t the greatest quality. Whoever operated the camera was far away, across the street from the courthouse steps. At least the picture was now stable, the camera mounted on a tripod. Before, it had shaken, the cameraman obviously rattled.
    The crowd had scattered, media and protesters ducking for cover. After her initial hit on Montgomery – and thank God for Kevlar – Marina had started taking out cops.
    The door behind him creaked, giving him only a second’s warning before Cole flopped on the sofa beside him, sending the frame shuddering. ‘Whatcha watching?’
    He frowned at Cole, but didn’t look away from the screen. Daphne Montgomery had yet to get up. There was a guy kneeling next to her, looking like he was doing first aid. I need to see her get up . ‘You’re going to break this sofa one of these days.’
    ‘And my eyes’ll get stuck if I roll them,’ Cole said. ‘What movie is this?’
    ‘It’s not a movie,’ Mitch said dryly. ‘It’s the news.’
    ‘No shit? This is real life? I thought it was . . .’ Cole pitched forward, squinting.
    Montgomery was on her feet, so he turned the TV off. ‘Nothing you need to see.’
    Cole gave him the look. ‘I’m thirteen and a half. Get a grip.’
    ‘Oh, I’m about to. Why aren’t you in school?’
    Cole shrugged. Scowled. Said nothing.
    Mitch’s temper boiled up. ‘You’ve skipped nine of the last ten days. You’re going to have that social worker on my ass, boy. And I don’t like that. They’re always poking in other people’s business.’ And when they poke, they find shit I really don’t want them to see . ‘ Isn’t it bad enough that you spend half your time suspended because you can’t stop looking for fights? You’re gonna skip the other half? I don’t think so.’
    Cole set his jaw, his expression mutinous. ‘I don’t go lookin’ for fights.’
    ‘They just find you,’ he said sarcastically and stood up. ‘I don’t need this right now. Go to school, or so help me God, I’ll drag you.’
    Cole stood up. And looked down at him. Whoa . When did he get bigger than me?
    ‘I do not go looking for fights,’ Cole said through his teeth. ‘But I ain’t gonna run from one if it comes looking for me.’
    ‘Go to school. If you leave now, you can still make your last two classes.’
    Cole’s eyes flashed with fury, but he turned for the door. Visions of nosy social workers had Mitch flinging a few parting words. ‘And if you try real hard, maybe you can stay out of trouble till the Christmas break.’
    ‘If you’d wanted me to stay out of trouble, maybe you never shoulda dragged me back to this godforsaken hellhole. Everything was fine in Florida. Just fine .’ He swept from the room, slamming the front door so hard that the house shook.
    Mitch stood looking at the front door. Behind him he heard the door to the basement open, then close softly.
    ‘Boy’s got a point,’ Mutt said mildly. ‘You packed him up in the middle of the night, dragged him into a U-Haul truck and never let him say