Did You Miss Me? Read Online Free PDF Page B

Socks.
    Remaining concealed, Joseph kept his voice even, not wanting to surprise a man with a gun in his hand. ‘FBI. Drop your weapon.’
    ‘Fuck,’ Maynard muttered. ‘Let me see the badge.’
    Joseph held it out and Maynard’s chin came up, his eyes wide. ‘Carter?’
    ‘That would be me. The gun, please.’
    Maynard handed it over, handle first. ‘Why are you here?’
    ‘I was going to ask you the same thing.’ Joseph pocketed Maynard’s gun.
    ‘I have a permit to carry,’ Maynard said, eyes narrowing.
    ‘You’ll get it back when we’re done. Why are you here?’
    ‘I’m looking for someone.’
    He’d called the man Tuzak . ‘A friend?’ Joseph asked.
    ‘An employee.’ Maynard hesitated. ‘And yes, he’s a friend, too.’
    Joseph thought of the slice across the victim’s throat. As much as he resented Maynard, he hated for the guy to see his friend that way. ‘Is he a cop?’
    Maynard’s narrowed eyes turned wary. ‘How’d you know?’
    There was no good way to say the words. ‘He’s dead, Clay. I’m sorry.’
    Maynard’s eyes closed, shoulders sagging as if he’d been expecting it. ‘How?’
    ‘Throat slit.’
    Maynard’s eyes flew open, denial warring with grief. ‘What are you doing here?’
    ‘I’m also looking for an employee.’ Ford Elkhart was his father’s employee, but it was close enough for now. ‘Why was this man here? What was he doing for you?’
    ‘Where is he?’ Maynard pushed past Joseph.
    Joseph grabbed his arm. ‘No. Clay, wait.’
    Maynard snarled, pain in his eyes. ‘Let me go or I’ll break your fucking arm.’
    ‘He . . . looks bad. If he was your friend, you don’t want to see him this way.’
    Clay’s lips thinned. ‘I’m sure I’ve seen worse. Let me go.’
    Joseph released him, following to make sure he didn’t disturb the scene. Maynard probably had seen a lot worse, but it was different when you knew the victim.
    Maynard abruptly stopped when he saw the red socks and sucked in a strangled breath as he walked around to see the head, the color draining from his face.
    ‘Oh God,’ he whispered. ‘Not again.’ Slowly he fell to his knees. ‘Not again.’
    Not again? What the— Oh, shit . Maynard’s story came back to Joseph in a rush. He’d lost the partner before Paige, discovering her body gutted by a vicious killer and left to rot. Now this partner was nearly decapitated. If I’d remembered, I would have held him back harder, kept him from seeing this . But Joseph knew it would have been fruitless to try to control Maynard. I would’ve pushed him away under the same circumstances .
    ‘ They cut him.’ Maynard uttered the words in a choked whisper. ‘They cut his head off. Oh my God. Fucking hell.’ He lurched to his feet and stumbled backward, his expression a mixture of shock, nausea, and pain.
    Joseph turned him so that he no longer stared at his dead friend. ‘Who is he?’
    ‘Isaac Zacharias. Sergeant, DCPD. Oh God. What am I gonna tell Phyllis?’
    ‘What was he doing for you?’ Joseph shook his shoulder. ‘ Clay . What was Zacharias doing for you that got him killed?’
    Maynard drew a breath and pulled himself together. ‘Bodyguard duty.’
    Bodyguard duty . The sick feeling in Joseph’s gut spiked. That Daphne would trust Maynard to protect her son made sense.
    New horror mixed with the grief on Maynard’s face. ‘Oh God. Ford. Daphne’s son.’
    ‘Zacharias was protecting Ford?’
    ‘Ford is the employee, isn’t he? Your father’s employee.’ It was calmly stated, but the vein in Maynard’s neck visibly throbbed. ‘Where is he?’
    ‘He appears to be missing,’ Joseph said grimly.
    ‘Does Daphne know?’
    ‘Not yet. We’ve tried to contact her. She hasn’t answered her phone this morning.’
    ‘She’s in court. Jury verdict today on the Millhouse case.’
    ‘How did you know to come here?’
    ‘Tracker on Tuzak’s car. All my people carry one, just in case they need backup. His relief