Baltimore 03 - Did You Miss Me?

by Karen Rose

  Alec’s eyes widened. ‘Me? I thought I was just the driver.’

  ‘I changed my mind,’ Clay said. The kid noticed things that other people didn’t. ‘Get your gear and follow me. And close your mouth before the birds fly in.’

  Clay’s knock was answered by Gargano. Who immediately slammed the door.

  ‘That went well,’ Alec murmured.

  Clay knocked again. And a third time. The door opened again, but this time Trooper Gargano was armed. In one hand he held a Glock, his finger on the trigger. In the other hand he held a cordless phone, his finger poised over the keypad. ‘Go the fuck away.’

  ‘I’m not a cop,’ Clay said. ‘And I’m not selling anything.’

  Gargano’s eyes were cold. ‘Then you’re a reporter and I hate them even more.’

  ‘I’m not a reporter,’ Clay shouted as the door was slammed again. ‘Dammit.’

  Alec pulled out his cell phone, did a quick search, punched in a few buttons. Then he connected the phone to his cochlear implant with a special cord and waited.

  ‘Got the answering machine,’ he said to Clay. A few seconds later he said, ‘Hello, sir. I’m standing on your doorstep. We have a dead friend with two of your X2 cartridges in him. If this is one of those seriously old-fashioned answering machines and you can hear me, please pick up. If it’s voicemail, I hope you listen in the next few minutes—’

  The door opened. Gargano was still armed, but most of his anger was gone. ‘Who the hell are you people?’

  ‘My name is Clay Maynard. I’m a PI. This is my associate, Alec Vaughn. We’re from Baltimore.’

  ‘I figured as much. You’re really late. The other guy left two hours ago.’

  ‘Would you mind telling me who was here two hours ago?’

  ‘Yes, I mind. You said your dead friend has my cartridges in him. How?’

  ‘That’s what we’re trying to find out. I run a security firm. The victim was one of my contract employees, an off-duty cop doing after hours bodyguard work.’ Clay gauged the man’s reaction and decided he needed to lay it on a little more thickly. ‘He was trying to make a little extra for his fourth kid that’s due any day.’

  Gargano looked suspicious. ‘Quite a story.’

  ‘It’s true. You’ve heard about the shooting spree at the Baltimore courthouse?’

  There was a flicker in Gargano’s eyes. ‘You were there?’

  ‘Yes. I got there just as the shooting started.’

  ‘Why were you there?’

  ‘I’ve given you some information. I want a little from you.’

  ‘Why should I?’

  ‘Because two of your cartridges ended up in my dead friend.’

  He and Gargano locked stares. Finally Gargano blinked. ‘It was a Fed.’

  Clay sighed. ‘White hair, creepy eyes?’

  Gargano grimaced. ‘Hell, yeah. What’s with him, anyway?’

  ‘Personally, I have no idea. Professionally, we have the same objective. Two kidnapped college kids. We want them back. Before they’re dead too.’

  Gargano looked upward and Clay guessed one of the upstairs lights belonged to his own kid. ‘What do you want to know?’

  Beside him Alec’s teeth were chattering. ‘It’s freezing cold. Can we come in?’

  ‘Are you carrying?’

  ‘Yes. He’s not, though.’ Clay looked at Alec doubtfully. ‘Tell me you’re not.’

  ‘Okay, I’m not,’ Alec said. ‘Really, I’m not.’

  ‘Let me see your ID,’ Gargano said, then nodded when Clay showed it to him. ‘Keep your hands where I can see them. I don’t trust anybody anymore.’

  ‘I can understand that.’ Clay sat down on a well-worn sofa and put his hands on his thighs. Alec sat beside him, looking around the room, openly curious.

  I’m going to have to teach the kid a little subtlety.

  ‘All right,’ Clay said once Gargano had sat down. ‘I think the question of the day is how your taser cartridges ended up in an alley in Baltimore. The cop’s name was Isaac Zacharias. He was providing security for a young man named Ford Elkhart. Ford was last seen in Baltimore, walking his girlfriend to her car after a movie. They cut through an alley and the abductor was waiting. He didn’t know about Zacharias, though.’

  ‘Zacharias was tased?’

  ‘And then drugged. His killer slit his throat with a non-metal blade.’

  ‘The blade’s not mine, I can tell you that for certain. I don’t keep blades.’

  ‘Then do you know anybody named Doug?’

  ‘No.’ There wasn’t even a flicker of recognition in Gargano’s eyes.

  ‘Kimberly?’

  ‘No.’ But he frowned. ‘The Fed asked me about Kimberly, but not Doug.’

  ‘He might not have known about Doug yet. He’ll be back. What did you tell him?’

  ‘Nothing more than he could have read in the police report. Because there isn’t anything else,’ Gargano said, frustration making his tone harsh.

  ‘There has to be,’ Clay said. ‘We just haven’t found it yet. Did Novak tell you why he’d asked about Kimberly?’

  ‘Just that she’d been kidnapped with the Elkhart boy.’

  ‘She has a record for theft. She stole a ring from a home she was cleaning.’

  ‘Novak did ask me if we had a cleaning service. I laughed at him. We’re barely surviving now, putting one daughter through college and saving for the younger one.’

  ‘And then they cut your pay,’ Clay said and watched Gargano’s eyes flash fury.

  ‘Yeah, well, they’re all sonsofbitches,’ he said bitterly. ‘I was a damn good cop. Nineteen years without a single blemish on my record. And they turned on me.’

  ‘Daddy?’ The alarmed little voice came from upstairs. ‘Are you all right?’

  Gargano hid his gun between the chair cushions before looking over his shoulder with a smile. ‘Go back to your room, MeiMei,’ he said gently, lovingly. ‘Daddy’s fine.’

  Clay’s ears perked up. MeiMei? It was a Chinese endearment meaning ‘little sister’.

  ‘Who are those men?’ she pressed, coming down a few more steps. She was about nine years old and had black hair. She was Chinese.

  Quickly Clay scanned the room for a family photo, but saw none. Was Mrs Gargano Asian or was the little girl adopted? Gargano had just said he was putting a daughter through college. Was she adopted too? Like Kimberly MacGregor?

  Beside him, Alec sat up straighter. He’d made the connection too. Smart kid.

  ‘They’re just visiting, honey. Go back upstairs and finish your homework. Mom will be home from work soon and she’ll want to see it done.’ The little girl did as she was told and Gargano’s gun hand reappeared. He still had his finger on the trigger.

  Clay barely noticed. His mind was spinning. ‘You called your daughter MeiMei.’

  ‘Yes. So?’

  ‘She’s Chinese. Adopted, yes?’

  ‘Yes. We adopted her when she was six months old.’ His eyes narrowed. ‘Why?’

  ‘Your older daughter,’ Clay pressed. ‘The one in college. Is she also Chinese?’

  Gargano’s face darkened. ‘What the hell is this?’ He stood up. ‘You need to leave.’

  ‘I’m sorry. Wait.’ Clay lifted his hands, palm out. ‘Kimberly MacGregor is also Chinese, adopted by her family. Aren’t there groups for families who adopt from specific parts of the world? Is it possible your daughter met Kimberly at a local function?’

  This made Gargano even angrier. ‘Are you saying my daughter stole from me?’

  ‘No, not at all. But what if she knew Kimberly, trusted her, invited her in, unwittingly gave her access? We know Kimberly stole once. Maybe she stole from you, too.’

  Gargano’s expression changed from fury to stunned disbelief. ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘Can we talk to her, your older daughter? Please, this is important.’

  ‘Yes, of course. She’s lives in the dorm.’

  ‘In Baltimore?’ Clay
asked.

  ‘No, why?’

  ‘That’s where Kimberly goes to school.’

  ‘My daughter didn’t go away to school. She’s here, in the city, but living on campus. She’s a freshman at Drexel in Philly. She doesn’t have a car, so we’ll have to go to her. If we can make this connection stick, I can appeal my demotion.’

  ‘After I find my missing college kids.’

  ‘Of course. I’m sorry.’ Gargano holstered the gun and ran to the staircase. ‘Jessica, we need to leave the house, baby. Get your coat and bring some homework.’

  ‘Clay,’ Alec said urgently. ‘Look.’

  Pushing himself to his feet, Clay looked over his shoulder and blinked. Alec had grabbed a chair from the dining room table and was standing on it, staring between the vent blades of the heating duct on the ceiling. ‘What the hell, Alec?’

  ‘Good God!’ Gargano shouted. ‘Were you raised in a barn? Get down now!’

  ‘In a minute,’ Alec said, pulling a penknife from his pocket. ‘This’ll be worth it.’

  ‘You said he wasn’t armed,’ Gargano said accusingly.

  ‘It’s just a screwdriver set.’ Alec held it out for Gargano to see. ‘Was your gun safe against that wall?’ he asked, pointing to a large built-in bookcase. A large rectangular area was empty, shelves having been built around it.

  ‘It was. I got rid of it after the theft. Why?’

  Alec unscrewed the vent cover and grinned. ‘Right there in the duct. A camera.’

  ‘In my heating duct? Why the hell would a thief leave a camera in my duct?’

  ‘To watch you dialing your safe’s combo,’ Alec said. ‘I’ve heard of this before, but usually when the safe contains high value goods, like trade secrets or diamonds. Whoever did this went to some trouble. They knew you’d have something they wanted.’

  ‘But why me?’ Gargano asked, bewildered.

  ‘We’ll ask Kimberly – if we find her,’ Clay said. ‘For now, this explains a lot.’

  ‘It does,’ Gargano said, new hope in his eyes. Footsteps clattered down the stairs and Gargano met his daughter with a huge smile, swinging her in a circle that had her squealing with delight. ‘Let’s go for a ride, MeiMei. We need to talk to your sister.’

  Baltimore, Maryland, Tuesday, December 3, 7.30 P.M.

  The conference room was silent except for the sound of Daphne’s boots as she paced. Paige was out in the hallway, doing a kata, one of the ways she relaxed.

  Daphne stopped pacing long enough to watch her. It was a little like ballet, Daphne thought, lithe and fluid. Powerful.

  And then Daphne saw Grayson at the other end of the hall. He was watching Paige, his expression intense. Paige saw him watching and came out of a spinning kick, landing gracefully in front of him and walking straight into his arms.

  Daphne turned away, her throat suddenly too tight to breathe. I want that. I want someone to look at me like I’m everything. That can’t be too much to ask. Can it?

  She closed the door to the conference room and walked to the window. Resting her forehead against the cold glass she tried not to fall apart. But the walls she’d built in her mind had broken down and all she could think about was Ford.

  Where are you? Are you still alive? Are they hurting you? Please don’t be hurting. She opened her eyes to stare at the snow that had started to fall. Please don’t be cold.

  The door opened and Grayson and Paige came in together. In the glass Daphne could see that neither of them smiled. Her blood suddenly colder than the glass, Daphne turned to look at them. She opened her mouth, but no words emerged.

  The floor began to shake. Someone was running. The shaking slowed and Grayson moved away from the door. Joseph was walking toward her. His eyes were bleak.

  Hector and Coppola were leaving, Grayson motioning them out. Daphne took a step back and hit the window, the cold a jolt to her body. ‘No.’

  This isn’t happening. Wake up, dammit. Wake up, because this isn’t real.

  ‘Daphne.’ Joseph’s voice was rough. Real.

  Unable to run, she stared up into his face as he walked to her and took her into his arms. ‘No,’ she whispered.

  ‘We found a crime scene at Odum’s house. We found Ford’s watch. Some of his other personal effects.’ He drew a breath. ‘He could still be alive. But we found blood. A lot of it. We have to face the fact that he could be . . . in trouble.’

  She wanted to look away. Run away. Cover her ears and not hear. But her body wouldn’t move. Trapped, she stared up at Joseph. ‘Where is he? Where is my son?’

  ‘I don’t know. We didn’t find . . .’ He hesitated, swallowed hard. ‘A body.’

  Daphne jerked out of his arms and ran for the washroom.

  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Tuesday, December 3, 7.55 P.M.

  ‘Daddy?’ Laurel Gargano jumped up from the coffee shop table where she’d been sitting when Trooper Gargano rushed in, Jessica’s hand tight in his. Clay was right behind him. Alec was looking for a spot to park his car, Gargano having slid his aging Toyota into the last parking place on the street.

  Laurel’s face was tight with fear. ‘What’s wrong? Is it Mom?’

  ‘No,’ Gargano said. ‘Your mother’s fine. I just needed to talk to you.’

  Laurel pressed her hand to her heart. ‘You scared me. Your text said that it was urgent.’ She shot her father an indignant look. ‘Who is this man?’

  Gargano took her arm. ‘He’s a PI from Baltimore. He has a few questions for you. It’s important, honey. Really important. He might be able to help us.’

  ‘Okay, Daddy,’ she said, still wary. She let her father lead her back to the table, glancing sideways at Clay. ‘What’s this about?’ she asked when they were seated.

  ‘Do you know a girl named Kimberly MacGregor?’ her father asked.

  ‘Yes. I know her from Chinese school. You know her too, Dad. Her father’s the veterinarian. You met him at one of the picnics for the adoptive families.’ When her father still didn’t remember she crunched her eyebrows, thinking. ‘Oh, I know. Her dad is the one you lost the bet to, the one I wasn’t supposed to tell Mom about.’

  ‘Which bet was this?’ Clay asked.

  ‘I have no idea,’ Gargano said.

  ‘You bet him that the Lightning would never take home the Cup.’

  Gargano frowned. ‘What?’

  She sighed patiently. ‘You were mad that they scheduled the annual social during game seven of the Stanley Cup, but when we got to the MacGregors’ house all the dads were in the TV room watching the game, and you let me come in and watch with you. You bet Kimberly’s father a hundred bucks that Tampa wouldn’t take it.’

  ‘Honey, that was in 2004. You could have come up with something more recent.’

  She shrugged. ‘We stopped going to the socials after you made SWAT in 2004.’

  He looked away. ‘I’m sorry about that, baby.’

  ‘That’s okay.’ She patted his hand. ‘I didn’t like them anyway. I went for Mom.’

  He kissed her forehead, then looked at Clay. ‘That family is wealthy. Nice house, nice part of town. He had one heck of a man-cave – three different beers on tap.’

  ‘Which was why you bet him the hundred to start with,’ Laurel said affectionately. ‘And why I wasn’t allowed to tell Mom.’ Her brows crunched again, this time in concern. ‘Is this about Kim’s sister, Pamela? The one who went missing last night?’

  ‘Possibly,’ Clay said. ‘There’s been an AMBER Alert since last night.’

  ‘I didn’t know. I wasn’t on duty today.’ Gargano turned his attention back to Laurel. ‘Was Kimberly ever in our house?’

  ‘Yes,’ Laurel said, her wariness returning. ‘Why?’

  ‘When, Laurel?’ Clay asked quietly.

  ‘Last winter, before Christmas. It was a sleepover for my birthday. My mom invited all the girls from the Chinese school. I was a little surprised Kim came. She and I were never really close and she’s two years older than
I am. She was home from college for the break. I figured she’d have better things to do than have a party with kids. Why?’

  ‘Where was the sleepover?’ Clay asked.

  ‘In the basement. We have a rec room downstairs,’ Laurel explained.

  ‘Did you notice if Kimberly left the party at any time that night?’

  ‘I don’t remember, but she could have. There were ten girls and only one bathroom downstairs.’ Laurel looked at her father. ‘Daddy? What’s going on here?’

  ‘It’s possible that Kimberly could have been involved in the burglary,’ Gargano said. ‘Mr Maynard’s associate found a camera in the ceiling vent. Whoever put it there may have been watching me dial the safe’s combination.’

  Laurel was shaking her head. ‘Kimberly wouldn’t do that.’

  ‘She’s been caught for stealing before,’ Clay said gently. ‘In Maryland.’

  ‘Why would she steal?’ Gargano asked. ‘Her father is loaded.’

  Laurel shook her head. ‘Not anymore. Her father’s practice got hurt in the recession. She used to drive a BMW, but I heard her parents sold it. When she came to the party she got dropped off by her boyfriend.’

  Clay had to remind himself to breathe. ‘Did you see him?’

  ‘No. I don’t even remember what he drove. I’m sorry.’

  ‘Don’t be,’ Clay assured her. ‘You’re doing great. I’m asking all these questions because the tasers taken from your dad were used to kidnap a young man about your age. Kimberly’s new boyfriend. We’re trying to bring him home.’

  A tap on his arm had him looking down. Gargano’s younger daughter looked up at him with intelligent eyes. ‘Do you have a picture of her?’ Jessica asked.

  ‘I do.’ Clay checked his cell phone and found the photo of Kimberly that had come up with her background check. As he was about to show Jessica the picture, his phone rang, the caller ID sending the photo to the background. It was Paige. He’d call her back in a second. He hit decline, then showed the photo to the little girl. ‘Do you remember her?’

  Jessica took his phone and stared. Then nodded. ‘I’d gone downstairs to get some cake before the girls ate it all. She was standing in front of the bookshelves, talking on her cell phone and smiling like she was getting her picture taken. Looking up, you know? Like when you take a picture of yourself.’ She frowned. ‘But she was talking on the phone. So how could she be taking her own picture at the same time?’