Baltimore 03 - Did You Miss Me?

nightmare. Never seen so many big hats in my life. They kept whackin’ each other over the punchbowl. One stabbed the other with her hatpin. It was awful.’ And you weren’t there , she thought, watching him. She knew every fundraiser he’d attended by heart. Because I’m just that pathetic .
    She still hadn’t gotten over the shock of looking up to see his face. She’d thought herself a goner, for sure. But he’d saved her. Which is a good thing . So what was bothering her so much? ‘I still don’t get why you have Mama’s shop in your phone.’
    She was missing a detail. It wasn’t this detail, but she had to start somewhere.
    ‘My mother liked Grayson’s mother’s hat, so when it was her birthday Paige took me to your mother’s shop.’ He said it like he was reading from a police report. Stiff and formal. Flat. Too polite. ‘Your mother was helpful and my mother was pleased.’
    ‘I see. Well, that’s nice. Let me call Ford. I’m sure he’s worried too.’
    The finger that tapped the steering wheel froze and the breath backed up in her lungs. Ford . Something was wrong with Ford.
    Wait . Joseph said he’d tried to call Grayson when they were in court. Why? And then she knew what had been bothering her. Suddenly terrified, she forced herself to ask, ‘Joseph, why were you at the courthouse today? And with Clay? Why?’
    ‘We’re here.’ He pulled into the ER, but didn’t drive up to the door. Instead, he pulled into a parking place reserved for law enforcement, underscoring the fact that he wasn’t just Grayson’s brother. He was FBI.
    Oh my God . The fear rose in her throat, choking her. He’s FBI . ‘Tell me,’ she demanded, fighting the wave of hysteria. ‘Dammit, Joseph, why were you there?’
    He turned to meet her eyes. And she knew. Her breath was coming too fast. Can’t be . Won’t let it be . She shrank away from him, her hands over her ears. ‘No.’
    Joseph leaned across the seat and pulled her hands away, his dark eyes intense. ‘Daphne, listen to me. Ford’s bodyguard was found dead this morning. Murdered.’
    ‘No. It’s a mistake. Whoever found him made a mistake.’
    ‘I found him. It’s no mistake.’
    ‘Isaac is a cop. He wouldn’t let that happen. It wasn’t him. It wasn’t Isaac.’
    ‘Clay was there. He identified him.’
    Clay was there. They’d come together. To tell me . It made sense. No, it didn’t .
    ‘I can’t hear this.’ Ford was gone. Gone . Taken . Just like me . I can’t do this again .
    The years rushed back and she was there . That cabin with its shed . . . and the steps going down into the earth. It was dark. I was so cold . This can’t be happening again .
    ‘ I can’t hear this,’ she repeated in a harsh whisper.
    ‘You have to. Daphne, Isaac Zacharias was murdered near the theater that Ford and Kimberly went to last night. Ford and Kim’s cars were still at the scene. They didn’t show up where they were supposed to be today.’
    ‘So?’ Can’t breathe . Gone . Taken . He’s wrong . ‘Doesn’t mean they’re missing.’
    He closed his eyes for three hard beats of her heart. When he opened them . . . She saw regret. ‘We found blood on the ground near Isaac’s body. And blond hair. Ford’s color. And . . . blood on the handle of Kimberly’s car. We’re treating it as an abduction. I’d come to tell you, when . . . When all hell broke loose.’
    A sob built up inside her and broke free. ‘Joseph.’
    ‘I know,’ he said quietly. ‘I’m so sorry.’
    Then Daphne saw Cindy Millhouse in her mind, face twisted with hate. ‘“You’ll know how this feels.” That’s what Cindy said. She’s got Ford. She’s got my son.’
    ‘We’ll find him,’ he promised fiercely.
    ‘I’ve got a folder. All my trial notes, profiles, research. Everything I gathered for the Reggie’s trial. It’s in my desk. Take me there. I’ll get it.’
    ‘Grayson went to get it. I need you to go to the ER and let them look at your head.’
    ‘No, I can’t. I have to find him.’ She grabbed the door handle and wrenched it open, but he was out of the car and around to her side before she could slide to the ground.
    He grasped her shoulders and held her fast. ‘Daphne, you can’t help your son if you’re in pain. I need you to be alert. I need you to be able to think.’
    ‘Let me go. You don’t understand. I need to go. I have to find him.’ Furiously she jerked away, stumbling backward. ‘Let me go.