Baltimore 03 - Did You Miss Me?

goodbye to his friends. You wouldn’t have reacted nearly so well at the same age.’
    I would have killed me in my sleep . ‘Your point?’
    ‘The kid’s not stupid. He knew something was wrong then. He does now.’ Mutt’s brows lifted. ‘He nearly stumbled on your stash this morning.’
    Mitch’s jaw tightened. ‘Dammit.’
    ‘This surprises you? You hid storage tubs filled with cash in the root cellar. It’s not exactly the most diabolically secure hiding place.’
    Mitch did have a more secure hiding place in the basement – the small room that connected to the tunnel – but until recently it had been filled with the guns he’d skimmed from his stepfather’s shipments. Now the guns were gone, making room for Pamela MacGregor, stolen to force Kimberly’s compliance last night.
    ‘Why was Cole in the basement to start with?’ he asked, remembering he’d tried to ask once before.
    ‘Hiding from you. He didn’t want you to catch him skipping school. Or smoking.’
    Mitch’s jaw dropped. ‘When the hell did he start smoking?’
    Mutt started laughing. ‘You’re hiding a quarter million in your root cellar and you’re worried about Cole smoking ? Oh, come on, Mitch. You gotta see the irony in that.’
    No, I really don’t . But he made himself chuckle. ‘I guess I do.’ He made a point of looking at the suitcase in Mutt’s hands. ‘I see you’re starting on my deposits.’
    ‘After my meeting. I’ll email you a receipt.’
    I wonder what number Mutt will write on that ‘ receipt ’. Mitch knew to the dollar what he had downstairs, so he’d know exactly what his brother had just stolen from him. Only the knowledge that he knew exactly how to break into Mutt’s precious accounting program to take his money back kept the easy smile on his face. ‘You do that.’
    When Mitch had closed and locked the door, he let himself snarl. Does Mutt think I’m that stupid? Does he really think I don’t know what he’s doing? Or does he just think I’m too weak to tell him no? Probably all of the above.
    I’m not stupid . I’m a helluva lot smarter than he is . And I did it on my own, without a fancy college degree or my daddy’s money . Mitch marched up to his bedroom. If I was stupid, I wouldn’t know how to do this.
    Sitting on his bed, he pulled up Beckett’s garage webcam on his phone. The shed was empty and Mitch was reluctantly impressed. It hadn’t taken Ford nearly as long to escape as he’d expected.
    Now, let’s see if I was right . He’d predicted Ford would escape, leaving Wilson Beckett alive. Because Ford was oh-so-kind. Which was really too bad for the kid. Ford Elkhart had the brains and brawn to be somebody someday, but that tender heart he wore on his sleeve would relegate him to the pussy ranks forever. Just ask Kimberly .
    The girl had enchanted Ford with her brains and enticed him with her bod, but it was her whispered tale of the abuse she’d suffered at the hands of her mother’s boyfriend that had cemented her hold.
    Kim’s stories were, of course, pure fabrication. Her parents lived together in a rich suburb of Philadelphia. There was no boyfriend, abusive or otherwise.
    It had been a risk, having Kim lie about her family. Ford might have had her checked out. If he had, her true connection to Ford’s mother would have been revealed and because she’d already lied, he wouldn’t have believed anything else she’d said.
    But Mitch knew people and was damn good at predicting what they’d do. Ford hadn’t checked her out because he wanted to believe the girl. Kim’s stories had roused the kid’s inner white-knight, ensuring he’d follow her anywhere. Even into an alley.
    Mitch switched to the camera feed in the cabin and grinned. Am I good or what? Beckett was on the floor – alive, tied and gagged. And naked as the day he was born.
    Mitch chuckled. You go, Ford . Stealing the old guy’s thermals took chutzpah – and a strong stomach because the old man stank like he hadn’t bathed in a long time.
    Now I can sleep . But not for too long . If Ford wasn’t found by nightfall, Mitch would need to drive back and help the kid out. He couldn’t have Ford dying before he took his message back to his mama.
    I’m back . Did you miss me?
    Tuesday, December 3, 11.47 A.M.
    Cole flattened himself against the side of the old house, holding his breath. He shouldn’t have worried. Matt didn’t look his way as he walked to his Mercedes.
    He drives a damn