by Karen Rose
‘Part of the service. Come on. The others are downstairs waiting to see you.’
Daphne’s eyes flew open. ‘Others? Who’s here?’
‘Clay, Alyssa, and Alec.’ She met Daphne’s eyes, hers resolute. ‘They stopped by on the way into the office. But Clay needed to see you first.’ She hesitated. ‘If you’re angry with him, I’ll tell him that you finally fell asleep. He’s terrified to see you.’
‘Tell him I’ll be down in a few minutes. I need to freshen up.’
Paige left with the dogs and Daphne picked up her phone, staring at Joseph’s text.
I wonder what he did when she was stolen, whoever she was. Daphne was pretty sure he hadn’t sat around his house crying. Neither will I. I have the entire Millhouse file. And it was stuffed full of financials, friends, neighbors, associates, business partners . . .
She gave herself a stern stare in the mirror. ‘I’m going to do more than believe, Joseph Carter. I’m going to find my son.’
Tuesday, December 3, 2.30 P.M.
When Joseph entered the conference room Bo gestured to the vacant chair at the head of the table. Joseph had Bo on his right and BPD Homicide Lieutenant Hyatt on his left. Hyatt was crusty, tending to make enemies when he didn’t need to, but Grayson liked him, which said a lot.
Rounding out the table were Brodie and her BPD counterpart, Drew Peterson; Deacon, who sat munching his deli sandwich unapologetically; and JD Fitzpatrick, who sported one hell of a shiner received during Bill Millhouse’s resisted arrest.
JD gave him a grim nod. ‘I’m on temporary loan to your team.’
‘Good to have you. I’ll keep this as brief as possible so we can get back to the investigation. We’ll connect with Detective Hector Rivera, who’s heading up the team guarding Ms Montgomery, and SA Grayson Smith by speaker phone,’ Joseph said, dialing the phone as he spoke. ‘The ME said he’d call if and when he found anything.’
On the speaker, Hector answered. ‘Rivera here. I’m at SA Montgomery’s home.’
‘Grayson Smith here,’ Grayson said through the speaker. ‘I’m calling from my office, where I’m preparing the charges against a hell of a lot of Millhouses.’
Eyes narrowed around the table, the tension palpably increasing.
‘Then let’s get moving,’ Joseph said, ‘so we can grant them their right to a speedy trial. Before we begin, I have a few medical updates. Deputy Welch is out of surgery and in good condition. The cameraman is also out of surgery, but in serious condition. I don’t have anything new on Detective Mazzetti, so I assume she’s still in surgery. My last voicemail from her parents said the doctors were saying there was extensive damage to her femoral artery and that it would take a while to repair.’
If they could repair it, Stevie’s mother had added in a teary voice. Joseph decided to keep that detail to himself. ‘And we need to take a moment to remember the officers we lost today – BPD’s Officer Winn and MPD’s Sergeant Zacharias.’
The room went quiet as they observed a moment of silence. ‘All right,’ Joseph said soberly. ‘Let’s begin. Dr Brodie, you’re first. Please report on the crime scene.’
Brodie detailed the layout of the scene, including Joseph’s analysis of the most likely scenario. ‘I’ve traced the serial numbers of the taser AFID tags,’ she said. ‘Two tasers and ten cartridges were reported stolen by a Pennsylvania state trooper a year ago. They’d been assigned by his department and he kept them in his gun safe which was in his home. The thieves also got his service weapon, several antiques, and two semi-automatic pistols.’ Her eyes gleamed. ‘And guess where those pistols were found?’
JD leaned forward. ‘In Bill Millhouse’s trunk with his ten assault rifles.’
Brodie’s smile was sharp. ‘Very good, Detective. We’re running ballistics on the other weapons found in Bill and Marina’s possession. So far nothing’s popped.’
‘But now we can connect Bill Millhouse to the murder of Officer Zacharias and the abduction of Ford Elkhart,’ Joseph said. ‘Even if we can’t prove Bill was in the alley, we’ve got a connection through whoever supplied the pistols and taser cartridges. What about the knife that Reggie used in the courtroom? Has anyone had time to look at it?’
‘I did,’ Drew Peterson said. ‘I’ve never seen anything quite like it.’ He passed photos of the knife down the table. ‘It’s curved, like a sickle. When it’s taken apart, the halves align, one on top of the other. Hector and Grayson, I’ll email you the pictures.’
‘Thanks,’ Grayson said. ‘I want to know how they smuggled it into the courtroom.’
Joseph studied the photo. Daphne had said that the plastic strip they’d found in the backpack was the same color as the knife. It was also the same shape as both halves, when stacked on each other. He saw that Deacon had also noted the connection. ‘Show them what you found,’ he said to Deacon.
Deacon put the plastic plate on the table, tagged in an evidence bag. ‘Ford’s cell LUDs led us to an alley where we found this in a backpack. It smells like a gym shoe.’
‘Let me see that,’ Peterson said. ‘There are prints on the surface.’
‘I was going to send it to Latent when we were done,’ Deacon said.
Peterson typed a text into his phone. ‘I’m requesting a tech to come up here and get it. We’ll put a priority on running the prints.’
‘You say Ford’s cell phone record led you to this alley?’ Grayson asked.
‘Yes. Daphne Montgomery received a text from Ford’s phone today at about ten A.M.,’ Joseph said. ‘She thought it was real, that Ford had texted her and he was safe. She was devastated to find that wasn’t true.’
There was a rumble around the table followed by a moment of intense silence.
Deacon spoke up. ‘Why take SA Montgomery’s son now? I mean, I get the notion of payback, but they took him before the guilty verdict was in. There was still a chance the jury would acquit. If they’d failed or if Ford had been discovered missing before the trial reconvened this morning, it would have made things even worse for Reggie. If it’d been me, I’d have taken one of the juror’s kids. Just sayin’,’ he added when everyone stared at him. ‘Kidnapping Ford when they did it served no purpose.’
‘Neither did shooting innocent people,’ Hyatt said coolly. ‘I don’t think we’re dealing with great intellect in the Millhouses.’
‘I don’t know,’ Joseph said. ‘Zacharias’s killer came with a plan. He was surprised by Zacharias, but he adapted. I don’t think he’s stupid. Marina? Stupid or maybe suicidal. Bill Millhouse showed up with a trunk full of weapons this morning. He had a plan, too – to break Reggie out. And in the absence of that, kill as many as he could.’
Hyatt’s face flashed fury. ‘Millhouse family Plan B. Scorch the earth.’
‘Having said all that,’ Joseph said, ‘Deacon has a point. We can see purpose to Millhouse’s actions at the courthouse today. But why they took Ford when they did? It’s a damn good question. We have to keep an open mind.’
‘Fine,’ Hyatt muttered. ‘Just don’t go looking for any grand design to all this.’
Joseph nodded. ‘So noted. What else do we know?’
‘Kimberly MacGregor may have set Ford up,’ Deacon said, registering surprise around the table. ‘She had a felony record for theft. SA Montgomery dealt her down. And her younger sister went missing last night. Out of Philly.’
This sent up a flurry of exclamations. ‘That changes things,’ Hyatt said.
‘And underscores Deacon’s question on the timing of the abduction,’ Bo added.
Deacon looked satisfied, but wisely said nothing.
Joseph frowned as a fact clicked in his mind. ‘Dr Brodie, did that Pennsylvania trooper’s theft report have an address?’
Brodie checked her phone. ‘Email says . . .’ She looked up. ‘Broomall, PA.’
Deacon’s fingers were flying over his phone. ‘Google says it’s just outside Philly.’
‘Not a coincidence,’ JD said.
‘How long have Kim and Ford been dating?’
Joseph checked his phone again and smiled. His father had come through. The email was short. Screen shots you asked for are attached. Ford met Kim at a frat party in early September. Let me know if you need anything else. Love, Dad.
‘They met in September at a frat party,’ Joseph said. ‘Daphne knew about her, but had never met her. I’ve got his Facebook posts here. We’ll read through those, and ask around the dorm, see if any of the students can add any detail. Let’s search Kim’s dorm room top to bottom. We need to know everything about her. Let’s talk possible places they could hide Ford, Kimberly, and her sister. I think the Millhouses have him, but not at their principal properties. Where else might they hide him?’
‘If they haven’t already killed them,’ Brodie said quietly. ‘They’ve shown themselves to be ruthless and capricious. They have a taste for revenge. And they’ve made no ransom demands. Why wouldn’t they kill them?’
Why indeed? ‘Then we’d better hurry,’ Joseph said. ‘The search of the Millhouses’ primary address and their business turned up nothing. JD, can you search for any other properties owned by the Millhouses and their relatives?’
JD nodded. ‘Did we get their computers?’
‘Yes, but they’re encrypted, unfortunately. IT’s working on breaking into their network so check with them. Deacon, give a call to the trooper who reported his weapons stolen. Find out if he knew Kimberly. And pull up her felony conviction. She stole some jewelry, right? Find out how she took it.’
‘Her arrest report said she was with a cleaning service,’ Deacon said. ‘But I’ll get more info on her employment history. I may need to drive up to Philly.’
‘Plan on it. I’ll go with you if I can. I want to talk to MacGregor’s parents. Bo, can you coordinate with the Philly field office? We’ll need to interview witnesses ourselves. And we need to be plugged into the investigation into the little sister’s kidnapping.’
‘Consider it done.’
‘JD, you’ve also got the dorm. Talk to Ford’s roommate and Kim’s too. I want to know everything about them, especially Kimberly. I want to know who she hangs out with and where. If she set Ford up, she knows the abductor, so uncover any connection she has to Millhouse or his family. And if you find anything involving the little MacGregor girl, call me right away.’
‘Okay. I can go to Philly with Novak if I need to dig more.’
‘No, the rest of us can travel. You stay close to home. I hear your wife’s about to deliver.’ Joseph lifted a brow. ‘Ruby Gomez said she’s “big as a goddamn house”.’
‘Lucy’ll love that,’ JD said dryly. ‘I appreciate not leaving town. Lucy will too.’
‘No problem. Moving on to Isaac Zacharias. We have to wait on the new ME to figure cause of death, since it wasn’t the slice across his throat. Quartermaine’s thinking Zacharias was drugged. Probably a mixture, something that would have knocked him down fast, kept him down while Ford and Kimberly were carted off. Given that Zacharias was a surprise, he thinks the killer gave him Ford’s dose.’
‘Which was strong enough to kill a two-hundred-pound cop.’ Bo frowned. ‘Was he trying to kill Ford, too?’
‘That assumes the drug mixture was the cause of death,’ Joseph said. ‘But it’s a good question. If he meant to kill Ford all along, then why didn’t he?’
‘Assuming that he hasn’t,’ Brodie said gravely.
‘Which I am, until I know otherwise,’ Joseph replied firmly. ‘There was no weapon found at the scene, but we know a knife was used – definitely on Zacharias and maybe on Kim. Lieutenant Hyatt, can we get a canvass of all the storm sewers in the area of the crime scene, in case he tossed it?’
Hyatt nodded his shiny bald head. ‘Consider it done.’
Joseph turned to Brodie’s BPD counterpart. ‘Drew, you have all the weapons found in Millhouse’s trunk, right? Any knives?’
‘About fifteen knives, along with the ten assault rifles and two pistols. When the ME releases the autopsy photos we’ll see if any of the knives fit your wound.’
Brodie had picked up the photo of the knife Reggie had used in the courtroom. ‘Quartermaine will tell us for sure, but Zacharias appeared to be sliced with a non-serrated blade about this depth. This could be the knife,’ she said.
‘I was thinking that too,’ Joseph confessed. ‘It just seems very . . . tidy. See what you can find on the knife. From a print standpoint, we’re pretty sure it was handled by George, Reggie, and Cindy.’
‘And Daphne,’ Grayson inserted. ‘Reggie had dropped it on the floor and Daphne grabbed it while the deputies were restraining him. She crawled right into the thick of it.’
The mental picture had Joseph’s stomach rolling over even as his chest filled with pride. ‘That woman is too damned intrepid for her own good,’ he muttered.
‘We’ll check every square millimeter of the knife,’ Peterson promised.
‘Good.’ Joseph tapped the table again, thinking of all the unexplored angles. ‘Kim got a text, possibly about her sister’s abduction, at seven last night. If Kim did set Ford up, she had him in position by eleven, because that’s when the movie ended.’
‘That gives whoever snatched her sister four hours to stow the kid and get to the alley,’ Deacon said. ‘Philly is a two hour drive, so the little sister can’t be stowed any farther than two hours from town.’
‘Unless he kept her,’ JD said. ‘He may not have stowed the girl right away.’
‘Possible,’ Deacon said thoughtfully. ‘He’d need a pretty big vehicle. Kim and her sister would have been small, but Ford’s a big guy. How did he get them out of the alley? In a van? A car with a really big trunk? Is Bill Millhouse’s car big enough?’
‘We’ve examined Millhouse’s car,’ Brodie said. ‘Our first inspection didn’t reveal any blood and both Kim and Ford were bleeding when they left the alley.’
‘His trunk’s also too small,’ Peterson added. ‘Millhouse would have been hard pressed to fit Ford in his trunk, even if he hadn’t been carrying enough assault rifles to kill everyone in that crowd.’
‘It could have been so much worse,’ Bo said quietly, ‘if JD hadn’t noticed Bill Millhouse skulking around.’
‘And if Stevie hadn’t shot Marina,’ JD added gruffly.
Joseph considered the teenaged killer. ‘When Daphne saw that Marina was dead, her worry was for the unborn child. Marina had been very pregnant during the trial, but when I checked her body, she was wearing a maternity pad.’
‘She missed the last days of the trial,’ JD noted. ‘We thought she’d had the baby.’
‘Maybe she wasn’t pregnant to start with,’ Deacon said.
‘Quartermaine can tell us for sure, but she looked like she’d had a baby recently. Assuming it was a live birth, that baby’s out there somewhere. With Marina dead and all the Millhouses in jail, who’s taking care of him? Or her. And where?’
‘Maybe the “where” is the same place they’ve stashed Ford and Kim,’ Deacon said.
‘I was thinking that, too,’ Joseph said. ‘We need to find out where the baby is. We know it’s not at the Millhouse home.’
‘I’ll put a team of my detectives on it,’ Hyatt said. ‘I’ll have them check with the hospitals, find out where it was born.’
‘Thank you,’ Joseph said. ‘Does anyone have anything else?’
‘I do,’ Hector said. ‘Something that is too big a coincidence in my book. Ford isn’t the first person in this family to be abducted. Daphne and her cousin were kidnapped almost thirty years ago. Daphne was eight, her cousin seventeen. Her cousin’s body was found a week later in another state.’
Joseph frowned, a shiver skittering down his back. ‘That’s way too much coincidence. Why didn’t she mention that?’
‘I got the impression that it’s something she’s buried pretty deep. When she walked into her house, she had this moment of major déjà vu. I honestly thought she would pass out. When I asked
what happened, she said that the night the sheriff brought her home, everyone was gathered together, like today, and that it was one of those times when the “bad guy didn’t pay”. She and Simone talked about it without really talking about it, if you know what I mean. It was damn eerie.’
Joseph’s head was spinning as reaction slammed him from multiple directions.
First and foremost was helpless fury. Daphne was abducted. The very thought made him sick. That she’d reacted so violently to the reminder of her homecoming made him even sicker. Someone hurt her. My God. She was only eight years old.
The man in him wanted to hit something. Someone. Goddammit.
But the cop in him kept his cool. She’d been abducted and then her son was abducted, too? What were the odds of those events being independently random? Probably less than being struck by lightning. The two events were somehow connected. He could feel it. But how? And why?
Finally, the victim in him could only blink. She’d been abducted, too? Really? Just . . . wow. He’d known from the moment he met her that she was the one. She’d drawn him like a lodestone. Was this why? Had he sensed this?
Roughly he cleared his throat. ‘We’ll look into it, Hector. You and Kate keep talking to Daphne and her mother. See what else you can find. We need more data.’
‘Will do,’ Hector said. ‘Also, she’s had two visitors, both old friends. One was her ex’s security head and Daphne’s former bodyguard – name’s Hal Lynch. The other was Scott Cooper. He helps take care of her horses and trains her son, who competes in show jumping. Both of them have been father figures to Ford.’
Joseph noted the names in case they needed a look at Ford’s childhood from a male point of view. He distrusted both men on principle, but that was the male in him talking. ‘If the father figures visited, what about Ford’s father? Has he been in contact?’
‘Well . . .’ Hector hesitated. ‘Ford’s father is Travis Elkhart. He’s a judge. The family is seriously wealthy. Like snooty butler wealthy. Elkhart and his mother were quick to blame her for Ford’s abduction. So far they’ve made no attempt to contact her here.’