Baltimore 03 - Did You Miss Me?

Daphne Montgomery.’
    ‘Daphne.’ His voice warmed. ‘How are you?’
    ‘Keeping busy. I’m on the homicide floor with Rivera, Coppola, and Paige Holden.’ She told him about the mysterious Doug. ‘Do you have George Millhouse’s cell phone?’
    ‘I have it inventoried. I just hope it’s not encrypted. I’ll put you on speaker so I can listen while I look for it. I’m going to mute you because the lab is busy tonight.’
    The line went quiet and Coppola pointed to the board. ‘What else?’
    ‘He’s a weapons dealer,’ Hector said. ‘Tasers, knives, semi-autos. Assault rifles.’
    Daphne nodded. ‘Assuming Doug sold the knife to George this morning, Doug may have had it in his possession the night before. He could have killed Zacharias.’
    May be Z’s killer , Coppola wrote. ‘If this is the case,’ she said, ‘he’s smart. He’s capable of planning and quickly adapting.’
    ‘Yeah, Tuzak showing up in the alley must have been quite a shock,’ Paige said. ‘If Doug killed Tuzak and took Ford, he’s got some muscle, or he had help. Ford’s a big boy. He had to be able to lift him into a vehicle.’ Paige cast Daphne a nervous glance as she said this.
    ‘It’s okay, Paige. I’m not going to fall apart. I’m . . . compartmentalizing.’ Which was keeping her barely sane. ‘Doug connects to the theft of those weapons from the cop in Philly because he used the tasers. Semi-automatic pistols from the same theft showed up in Bill’s trunk. Either he stole the weapons himself or he knows who did.’
    ‘He’s ambidextrous,’ Hector said. ‘He shot two tasers in rapid succession, probably one in each hand.’
    ‘He’s probably right-handed though,’ Coppola inserted. ‘He missed the shot that he aimed at Kimberly. She was a bit farther away by then and his aim was off. That would have been his left hand.’
    ‘He’s good with drugs,’ Hector said. ‘Joseph believes that Zacharias was drugged with a cocktail meant for Ford, that the killer had customized doses for Ford and Kim. Customizing for size is more complicated than it appears. He may have a medical degree or have access to medical knowledge.’
    He drugged my child . Daphne had gotten stuck at that point, barely comprehending anything else Hector said. Fury whipped up within her, making her jaw clench. Paige patted the hand she’d balled into a fist.
    ‘Down, girl. You’ll get your chance with Doug, but we have to catch him first.’
    ‘You’re right. Sorry.’ Daphne forced her fist to relax. ‘George said that Doug’s father served in the army, in Desert Storm with Bill Millhouse. I have Bill’s military record in my file.’ She pulled the folder from her bag and searched. ‘Bill served in the Persian Gulf with the First Infantry Division, attaining the rank of sergeant. So we have to find out who was there with him who has a son named Doug.’
    Hector shook his head. ‘Possible, but unless Doug’s father listed him as a beneficiary on his benefits paperwork, it’ll take a while to find him. Anytime we deal with the Army, we’ve got red tape. Hyatt’s request might carry some weight. He was Army.’
    ‘He offered to help,’ Daphne said. ‘I’ll ask him when we’re done here.’
    There was a slight lull as everyone read what they’d captured on the white board so far. Daphne wouldn’t let herself stare at the clock on the wall. Her millions of small glances had been enough. It had been only twenty-two minutes. Joseph should be there soon, assuming they drove north to Timonium with sirens blaring. They’d do a silent approach to the house itself, but the sirens would cut most of the travel time.
    ‘Hey, Daphne.’ The speaker phone crackled as Drew Peterson un-muted his end. ‘Got George’s cell phone. I got lucky. It wasn’t encrypted. You want calls or texts?’
    Yes . ‘Both, please. The abduction happened at eleven. Maybe then?’
    ‘How about six P.M. yesterday?’ Hector said. ‘Kim got a text at seven with a large file. We think that was the photo of her kidnapped sister. We want to start before that.’
    ‘Here we go,’ Drew said. ‘Between six and ten last night George sent ten texts. Nine were to the same number – Marina. All a variant of “How’s my little girl?” Marina answers “She’s fine”, “She’s pretty”, “She’s sleeping”. With one she sends a photo of the baby sleeping in a room with yellow walls.’
    ‘What was the tenth text?’ Daphne