Baltimore 03 - Did You Miss Me?

Innis said. ‘Basic setup. String ran from the doorknob up through a hook in the ceiling and down to the trigger. Shotgun was pointed straight at the door. You would have taken a gutful if you’d run in there.’
    ‘I can see that,’ Joseph said. ‘What about the baby?’
    Innis’s partner, Poehler, appeared, carrying a small bundle wrapped in a pink blanket. ‘She seems okay. They’d wrapped a blanket around the crib.’
    ‘To muffle the sound of her crying,’ Bo said.
    ‘And maybe to protect her from plaster if the ceiling got shot out.’ Poehler handed the baby to Joseph. ‘Here you go.’ He grinned. ‘Her diaper needs to be changed.’
    ‘That’s okay. I’ve done it before.’ Joseph looked down into the baby’s face. She was so small. And very pretty. ‘You really do forget how small they are.’
    ‘You have kids, Agent Carter?’ Innis asked, surprised.
    ‘No.’ Which left him feeling . . . sad. ‘But we all pitched in to help with my youngest sister.’ He looked up at Innis. ‘What about the other doors and the basement?’
    ‘Rascal here didn’t detect any explosives on this level.’ Innis scratched the Belgian Malinois behind his ears. ‘We’ll open these other doors using the riot shields to absorb any shots. Then we’ll start Rascal on the basement. It’s just going to take a while.’
    ‘I’ve instructed the other crews as to what you’ve found,’ Bo said. ‘When you’re done here with Rascal, I’ve got the next addresses for you.’
    ‘Gonna be a long night,’ Poehler said dismally. ‘And I had a date.’
    I wish that’s all I had to lose . Joseph thought of Daphne, waiting by the phone. I don’t have your son . ‘ I have to call Daphne and let her know where we are.’
    ‘Tell her we’ll look under every rock,’ Bo said, but there was no hope on his face.
    When Joseph went outside, he frowned. Dr Brodie had arrived in a CSU van, but so had the media and now TV vans lined the street. The officers who accompanied them had set a crime scene perimeter, but it wasn’t nearly far enough away. Having spotted the bundle in his arms, reporters crowded the crime scene tape.
    ‘How did they know?’ Joseph asked coldly.
    Bo scowled from the doorway. ‘How do they ever know? One of the neighbors might have called or they might have even followed us up here.’
    ‘Hell.’ Joseph turned his back to them to keep them from photographing the baby as Dr Brodie trudged up the walk, her hands filled with her toolboxes.
    ‘Who have we here?’ she asked.
    ‘Melinda,’ Joseph said, tilting the baby away from his body enough to show her.
    Brodie set her cases on the ground and reached, then grinned when Joseph reflexively backed away, cradling the baby closer to the warmth of his body. ‘So what are you going to do with her?’
    Joseph looked down at the baby with a sigh. ‘Call a social worker, I guess.’
    ‘It’s awful cold out here,’ Bo said. ‘But she can’t stay in the house. Just in case they find another booby trap.’
    ‘One of the neighbors is a retired nurse.’ Joseph called over an officer, carefully transferred the infant to his arms, and pointed out the nurse, who still stood on the lawn.
    When she saw Joseph point her out, the nurse ran over, taking off her own coat as she approached. ‘A little girl, Agent Carter?’ she asked.
    ‘Her name is Melinda. Would you mind if this officer keeps the baby in your house until the social worker gets here?’
    ‘Of course not.’ She wrapped the baby in her coat. ‘Come with me, Officer.’
    He turned back to Brodie and Bo. ‘We may have a lead.’ He told them about the science teacher, the superglue, and the drugstore surveillance video.
    Bo’s face lit up. ‘So Doug is real. Very nicely done.’
    ‘We could have his face in less than an hour,’ Brodie said. ‘I’ll get started on it.’
    ‘Thanks.’ Joseph didn’t smile. He had to call Daphne. He’d put it off long enough.
    ‘Agent Carter, Agent Lamar . . .’ Innis called from the doorway. His face was grim. ‘You need to see this. You too, Dr Brodie. You’ll need your equipment.’
    Dread washed over Joseph. He followed Innis once again, this time down the stairs and into a basement room. ‘This is the room the next-door neighbor saw them in a few weeks ago,’ Joseph said. ‘The window is covered with black paper, just like she said.’
    He turned and saw the wall behind him, his arm dropping to his side, his stomach