Baltimore [3.5] Broken Silence Read Online Free

‘It’s okay to say nothing at all, until you’re ready. But if you want to see my ponies, you can just nod.’
    Angel slowly looked up and Joseph caught his breath. The child looked desperate. Like she wanted to say something so much, but couldn’t. Or wouldn’t.
    Daphne was smiling down at her. ‘Ponies?’ she prompted, nodding encouragingly.
    After what seemed like an eternity, Angel nodded too.
    The three in the observation room exhaled in unison.
    ‘Son of a gun,’ Heidi whispered.
    ‘Girls love ponies,’ Kate said. ‘Can you arrange a visit to Daphne’s farm?’
    ‘I’ll make it happen,’ Heidi promised. ‘This helps me, actually. The doctor was ready to release her from the hospital today and told me to arrange for foster care tonight. I needed a little time to find the right place for her.’
    Kate frowned. ‘I told him he needed to clear a release with us. We’ll be putting Angel in protective custody, at least until we know who she is and what kind of danger she’s in.’
    ‘Good. You should set the protective custody up ASAP. She’s medically cleared now.’
    ‘I will. I’ll let the doctor know we’ll check her out tomorrow morning. That way we can move her from Daphne’s farm straight to a safe house. Can you have her out to Daphne’s by tomorrow at ten?’
    ‘Will do.’ Heidi returned to the interview room where Daphne still held the little girl on her lap. She reached for Angel, but the child wrapped her arms around Daphne’s neck and clung. Daphne closed her eyes and Joseph could see she was fighting tears. She sat with Angel for a long while, Heidi waiting patiently in one of the nearby chairs. But eventually, Daphne looked up.
    ‘Angel, honey. It’s time to go with Miss Heidi. But you’ll see my ponies soon.’
    The desperation in Angel’s eyes intensified, but she allowed Heidi to take her. Clearly shaken, Daphne walked into the observation room and straight into Joseph’s arms. She was trembling and Joseph felt like a monster.
    ‘I’m sorry,’ he whispered. ‘I shouldn’t have asked you to do this.’
    ‘No. You should have. I’m glad you did. She wants to talk, but she’s so scared.’
    ‘Maybe she’ll talk to the ponies,’ he said softly. ‘You did.’
    ‘I know. That’s what I’m counting on.’
    Kate cleared her throat. ‘I’m heading out. I’ll arrange protection for Angel tomorrow. If she can I.D. the killer, she’s a loose end. I’ll also send her photo and a description of the coat to the Manhattan field office and get them interviewing New York furriers while I check around D.C.’
    ‘Sounds good,’ Joseph said. ‘Thanks, Kate.’ When they were alone, he lifted Daphne’s chin and kissed her. Not passionately, but comfortingly. ‘I am sorry. I knew it would be hard for you, but I was running out of options.’
    ‘I know. And I really am all right. But if you could hold me for another minute?’
    ‘It’ll be a hardship,’ he teased, then drew her close, resting his cheek on top of her head. The seconds ticked by in comfortable silence, until his cell phone buzzed in his pocket.
    ‘You should get that call,’ she said. ‘It’s probably important.’
    ‘It’s a text, not a call.’ But he knew Daphne was right. Angel was just one of the cases on his plate. Only one other was as high a priority, though – the recovery of the two dozen victims they’d found buried behind a cabin in West Virginia two weeks before.
    It was slow work. They’d spent the last two weeks mapping out the burial ground using ground penetration radar to keep from inadvertently destroying evidence. They’d just started retrieving the bodies a few days before.
    Except for one body. All of the victims had been teenaged girls except for the one adult male they’d found buried off to the side. They’d retrieved his body first. And then Joseph had been forced to inform Daphne that they’d found her father. For nearly thirty years she’d thought he’d