Baltimore 03 - Did You Miss Me?

that age needs to be fed every few hours. By the time you get out on bail, if you ever get out on bail, that baby will be dead.’
    George looked completely poleaxed. ‘No. Someone will take care of her.’
    ‘Who, George? None of your family. They’re all arrested with you.’
    ‘A . . . friend. A friend will find her.’
    ‘You keep on thinkin’ that. With friends like yours . . .’ Instinct had Joseph backing off. ‘Fine. We’ll leave the baby all alone for now. Let’s get back to dear old Dad who gave you all that dirty work. You know, kidnapping a state’s attorney’s son, killing a cop, smuggling the knife, supporting his mini-revolution.’
    George’s mouth fell open again. ‘State’s attorney’s son ?’
    ‘Did I fail to mention that? The college kids you kidnapped last night were SA Montgomery’s son and his girlfriend.’ George slumped into the chair looking like he couldn’t absorb one more word. ‘ Now do you understand the severity of your situation? You’re going down, George. Murders of cops, kidnapping. You can’t change that. But you can be a father to that baby. Tell me where she is. I’ll make sure she’s cared for.’
    Joseph sat in what he hoped was nonchalant repose when inside he was holding his breath. Please give me Odum . Give me a location for the baby . Give me something .
    ‘You’ll give her away,’ George murmured. ‘To strangers.’
    ‘That’s not mine to decide. I just don’t want her to die. We’ve lost two people today. Three if we count Marina. I don’t want to bury your baby, too.’
    George clenched his eyes tightly closed. ‘Can I see her?’
    ‘I’ll do my best.’
    ‘I didn’t kill anyone.’ It was a desperate whisper.
    ‘Then don’t start with your own daughter.’
    George sigh was tortured. ‘Richard Odum. He’s got a house, a couple houses. There’s one in Timonium. It’s nicer than the others. I, um,’ his voice broke. ‘I fixed her up a room there. Painted it yellow. Bought her a crib.’
    There you go, Grayson . Richard Odum, wrapped in silver paper . Now get me my damn warrant . ‘ What’s your daughter’s name, son?’ Joseph asked quietly.
    ‘Melinda Anne.’ George opened his eyes and Joseph saw a lot of pain and maybe a little truth. ‘I didn’t kill anyone. I swear it. I only got the knife from Doug this morning.’
    ‘Where did you go to buy the knife? And when?’
    ‘I met him in an alley near the courthouse. I almost didn’t get back in time.’
    ‘Where were you last night, George?’
    ‘I was supposed to meet Doug to buy the knife last night at 10.30. I waited until after midnight, then I texted him to ask him where the hell he was, but he never answered. He never showed up, so I left.’
    ‘When was that?’
    ‘About one A.M . I was almost home when he texted me to meet him the next morning at nine. So I did and he was late again. I almost left, but I knew my father would . . . not be happy if I showed up in court without the knife. So I waited until he showed.’
    ‘And nobody saw you? Either time?’
    ‘Nobody,’ he said glumly.
    It was on the tip of Joseph’s tongue to ask about the text to Daphne’s phone from the alley, but decided against it. George would just deny sending the text and revealing its existence would give the defense a reason to confuse a future jury as to the timeline.
    ‘Why?’ Joseph asked. ‘Why would you go to all this trouble to get Reggie out?’
    ‘Because . . . that was the plan. Reggie’s next in line.’
    ‘For what, George?’
    ‘For everything.’ It was said in the way of a person long trained in a dogma. ‘He’ll run the family when my father dies.’ But then his face hardened. ‘Which I hope is soon.’
    ‘On that we agree. Tell me about Doug. What does he look like?’
    ‘Ordinary. Brown hair, cut short. Brown eyes.’ He shrugged. ‘Ordinary.’
    ‘Height? Weight? Tattoos?’
    ‘Maybe five-nine. One-eighty? No tats that I ever saw.’
    ‘Ordinary,’ Joseph murmured. ‘He’s your father’s friend?’
    ‘Yeah. His father served with my father in the first Gulf War. Army buddies.’
    ‘Did he sell you anything other than the knife?’
    George’s eyes flickered, as though he were considering the best answer. ‘No.’
    Which meant yes. But George seemed back in control and looked like he was considering how to best cut his losses. Joseph decided to come back to the taser and guns later, when he could catch George off guard