Baltimore 03 - Did You Miss Me?

stepped back to give the ME tech room to work. He’d been glad to see Ruby pushing the stretcher into the alley. Skilled at her job, she ensured that evidence was preserved while showing compassion for the victim. She’d increase their chances of finding Ford and his girlfriend while still taking good care of Maynard’s dead friend.
    ‘Pretty exciting morning you’ve had, Agent Carter,’ Ruby remarked as she prepared the body bag. ‘Glad to see my favorite FBI guy still in one very nice piece.’
    Ruby’s flirtation was more about her personal style than any come-on. She flirted like most women breathed. ‘Gotta love Kevlar,’ he said pleasantly.
    ‘Absolutely. I have to say, I held my breath while all those bullets flew. And when you leaped through the air to save Daphne . . .’ Ruby fanned her face. ‘Majorly hot. Especially in slow mo. And Daphne’s my favorite prosecutor, too, so it was all good. I’d hate for anything to happen to her.’ She winked. ‘The woman’s muffins are to die for.’
    Joseph frowned. How many TV stations were showing the courthouse crime scene anyway? Because every time they did, they were compromising his investigation. I should have grabbed the cameras . Except shooting video wasn’t a crime. Dammit .
    ‘Where did you see it?’
    ‘Her muffins? She brings us a basket every time she attends an autopsy.’
    ‘Not the muffins,’ Joseph said, annoyed. ‘The leap. Which TV station showed it?’
    ‘All of them. But that’s not where I saw it.’ Ruby glanced up at him, her eyes twinkling. ‘I saw it on the Internet.’
    Joseph’s frown became a snarl. ‘I’m on the Internet?’
    ‘All of you cops are, but you, Agent Carter, are a bona fide sensation.’
    ‘But I don’t want to be on the Internet,’ he said, sounding like a disgruntled child.
    Ruby lifted a brow. ‘It could be a whole lot worse, papi . You might have missed.’
    ‘Good point,’ he muttered, chastised.
    ‘I thought so.’ Turning her attention to the body, she looked at it from different angles as if studying pool balls on a billiards table, her mouth bent in sad concentration. ‘ Dios . How do we move you?’ Then abruptly she rose and looked toward the street, her posture shifting as she eyed the man hurrying toward them. ‘Oh, yeah. That’ll work.’
    The man wore a distracted expression on a face that looked like it belonged in a photographer’s studio, not a crime scene. Both Ruby and Brodie stood straighter, staring with undisguised appreciation. Joseph’s eyes narrowed in irritation. With a pretty face like that, the guy had to be a reporter. Which meant he was leaving.
    Joseph stepped in front of him, blocking his view. ‘No media. You have to leave.’
    ‘But Agent Carter—’ Ruby started and Joseph cut her off with a harsh look.
    ‘No media, Ms Gomez.’
    ‘I’m not media. I’m Dr Quartermaine, the new ME. Here’s my ID.’
    Joseph studied the seemingly legit ID. ‘What happened to the old ME?’
    Ruby blinked up at him, incredulous. ‘You mean Lucy Fitzpatrick, who’s on maternity leave because she’s big as a goddamn house? She’ll be out for at least six months and our old department head just retired. Neil is the new boss.’
    Feeling a little foolish, Joseph returned the man’s ID. ‘I’m sorry, Doctor. Reporters make me crazy. I’m Agent Carter and this is Dr Brodie. We’re with VCET.’
    Quartermaine’s brow bunched slightly. ‘VCET?’
    ‘Violent Crimes Enforcement Team,’ Ruby murmured to him.
    ‘Oh, right. The acronym was in the join-up materials Lucy Fitzpatrick left for me to read. The FBI/BPD joint task force.’ He turned back to Joseph with a nod. ‘No worries. I hate reporters, too. So what’s the situation here?’
    Joseph stood back to let him pass. ‘Victim’s a cop. Was a cop.’
    ‘Then we’ll take good care of him.’ He tugged on the gloves Ruby handed him. ‘You said it would be exciting, Ms Gomez. I had no idea it would start my first day.’
    ‘Your first day?’ Brodie was sympathetic. ‘Hell of a way to start.’
    ‘Better than being my last day,’ Quartermaine said soberly. ‘Like this man’s.’ He crouched beside the body, brows knit. ‘This victim was dead before his throat was slit.’
    ‘We know,’ Joseph said. ‘We’re just not sure why.’ Joseph’s phone began to ring. ‘Excuse me. I have to take this.’ It was Deacon Novak. He stepped away from the group and answered. ‘What do you