Read Baltimore 03 - Did You Miss Me? for Free Online Page A

sorry. It was remembering . . . no, savoring the sound of the neck he’d snapped all those years ago that got him through the nightmares, then and now. And the loneliness. Then and now.
    A flutter at the corner of his eye caught Joseph’s attention and he barely stifled his groan. A man stood in the alley entry, his snow-white hair and goatee sharply contrasting with his bronzed face. His black leather trenchcoat whipped in the wind and wraparound sunglasses covered his eyes. His hand rested on his holstered gun as he assessed the situation, looking like a freaky cross between a sun-bleached Blade and Wyatt Earp.
    Maynard followed his gaze, stiffening. ‘What the hell is that ?’
    A pain in my ass . ‘ Special Agent Deacon Novak.’ Joseph looked back at Maynard. ‘Are you going to let me handle this? Ford’s life could depend on it.’
    ‘For now,’ Maynard said evenly.
    ‘Fair enough.’ Maynard’s concession would do. For now. ‘Let’s get to work.’

Chapter Two
    Tuesday, December 3, 10.18 A.M.
    F rozen, Daphne watched Cindy Millhouse clear the bar like it was a track-and-field hurdle. Then her reflexes kicked in and Daphne was on her feet, her left arm swinging up, deflecting Cindy’s fingers. Not the hair . You’re not touching my hair .
    She grabbed Cindy’s wrist, struggling to keep the woman’s sharp fingernails away from her face. From the direction of the defense table came a loud crash and Cindy’s eyes flickered with satisfaction, her nails inching closer.
    Then Cindy was yanked away and forced to the floor. Grayson glanced up, his face hard with fury. ‘Are you all right?’ he asked as he restrained Cindy – an effort even for him, a guy who could bench press a small truck. Reggie’s mother was in wildcat mode.
    Daphne nodded unsteadily. The defense’s table had been overturned – the crash she’d heard. Edward Ellis, Reggie’s attorney, lay on the floor, his foot pinned by the table. Stunned, Ellis stared up at his client who grappled with the courtroom deputy. Reggie’s arm was locked around Deputy Welch’s throat as he grabbed for Welch’s gun. For a horrified moment Daphne thought Reggie might succeed in getting it, but Welch threw his head back, cracking his skull into Reggie’s face. The deputy broke free as five more uniforms charged through the gate. Four ran to subdue Reggie while the fifth veered off to assist Grayson.
    Daphne had started to back away when she saw Deputy Welch crawling back toward the overturned defense table where Reggie continued to wrestle with the four new deputies. Welch was leaving a trail of bloody handprints behind him.
    Dropping to her knees, she crawled over to him. ‘What are you doing? Get back.’
    Welch’s arm was bleeding profusely, dripping on the floor. ‘Shiv,’ he said, pointing.
    Daphne could see it lying against the leg of the overturned table, hidden from the deputies’ view. It didn’t shine, wasn’t metal. It looked like plastic. It looked harmless. But it couldn’t be, because every time Reggie lunged, that was what he reached for.
    ‘Get back. I’ll get it.’ Going flat on her stomach, she reached and closed her fingertips over the strange-looking knife, then crawled backward, away from the fray. She held the knife over her head. ‘He had a knife,’ she yelled, then placed it on the floor, far away from the action.
    The deputies holding Reggie stared, eyes flaring wide. Two of the deputies drew their weapons, one aiming at Reggie’s chest, the other at his head. A third smacked Reggie in the back of the head with his club, stunning him long enough to cuff one wrist.
    Daphne turned back to Welch, who was lying in the shadow of the judge’s bench. His arm still bled, but wasn’t gushing, so that was good. She was more worried about the blood pooling at his hip. ‘He got you twice,’ she said.
    ‘No shit.’ Welch tried for a smile but grimaced instead. ‘Hurts like a bitch.’
    ‘I guess so.’ The court