A Precious Gift Page 18

  “She mentioned she might be going to college. Are you paying for that?” His question was aimed at Brian.

  “Yes,” Brian answered without the anger now. “We’d never be able to repay her for giving us the gift of her child, but college will give her a new life.”

  Finally the detective closed his notebook and slipped it into his jacket pocket.

  “What’s your theory on this, Detective?” Brian asked. “You don’t have to give me any details, just a hint as to whom you think might have done this.”

  The detective eyed Brian for a long moment. “If someone didn’t do this to hurt you and your wife, if you actually don’t have any enemies, then I think someone targeted Miss Sanders. I think they knew she was homeless, didn’t have a family, and decided her baby was the one they wanted, either for personal or other reasons. But whoever it was we will find them. And we’ll find your baby, too.”

  Carrie’s mind was swimming with all the possibilities of what could have happened. When Brian didn’t ask any more questions, she knew his was, too. They were both still trying to absorb the fact that the baby they had already begun to love had disappeared.

  There was an expression of absolute sorrow on Brian’s face as they walked down the corridor. He looked as if his universe had been blasted, and she knew the feeling. However, his expression changed when they crossed the threshold into Lisa’s room. His jaw became sternly set, and his body stance was absolutely taut.

  Lisa looked awful. Her eyes were red from crying. Her cheeks were splotchy. Her hair was limp. She looked so different from the girl who had been happy to have her pregnancy over with, so happy to be starting on a new life only hours before.

  One glance at Brian and Carrie, and Lisa knew they’d been told. “Is there any news?”

  “They’re investigating,” Brian said in a monotone, then went to Lisa’s bedside and took the chair there. “Have you told them everything you know?”

  “I don’t know anything!”

  Carrie watched her husband. He didn’t move his gaze from Lisa’s. “I have to ask you something, Lisa. Did anything happen on the streets? Did somebody come to you with an offer?”

  “What kind of offer?”

  “For your baby.”

  “No.” Lisa’s shocked face had to be believed.

  “And they didn’t make a higher offer after they learned we were going to adopt?”

  “No!” she almost shouted.

  Crossing to Brian’s side, Carrie laid her hand on his shoulder in stunned supplication. “Brian. Lisa would never do such a thing.”

  “If she was desperate enough, she would.”

  Carrie knew when someone was desperate they would do almost anything. Still…

  Although Carrie expected anger from Lisa, that wasn’t the emotion she saw there now. Rather, the teenager didn’t turn away. She didn’t become defiant. She just kept staring into Brian’s eyes. “I might have been desperate, but I never would have done something like that. Never. I don’t want anyone to have this baby but you and Carrie. You’ve got to believe me.”

  Normally Brian would analyze information in a situation to come to a decision. But this time Carrie saw the teenager had spoken straight to his heart.

  His expression softened as his hand covered Lisa’s, and his tone was gentle as he responded, “I believe you.”

  Tears rolled down Lisa’s face, and Brian gave her a hug. “It’s going to be okay. The detective says they’ll find whoever did this. They’ll find Timothy.”

  “That’s what they say on TV,” Lisa mumbled into his shoulder. “Sometimes it doesn’t happen there, either.”

  As Carrie sat on the bed by Lisa’s hip, she wanted to say they’d all pray for the return of the baby, but she didn’t know if she had the right to pray. Not after what she’d done to another child. Her throat was clogged with too many words, her heart swimming in emotions.

  When Brian leaned away from Lisa, he said, “I’m going to take a walk and see what else I can find out.”

  Carrie wanted to plead with him to stay, to hold her, to let her know they’d have a marriage—no matter what happened. But already she was feeling a wall going back up between them. Already a type of resignation was settling over Brian. And she knew what she was going to have to do.

  Now she had to find the courage to do it.

  Thirteen

  “And he was stolen right out of the hospital nursery—with the new security codes and everything!” Nancy Allen explained, her voice trembling with outrage.

  The news didn’t come as a surprise to Everett, but he pretended to be surprised…and horrified. “This happened tonight?”

  “Yes. After visiting hours. I was just getting off my shift when the police cruisers drove up and officers began searching the hospital. Brian and Carrie are going to be sick about this. Absolutely devastated.”

  “Brian and Carrie Summers? What do they have to do with it?”

  “I guess I forgot to mention it to you. They’re adopting Lisa Sanders’s baby.”

  Everett swallowed hard at that news. Brian Summers was rich and probably had all kinds of connections. Composing himself, he replied, “I imagine they’ll take the news hard.” He put false encouragement into his voice. “Maybe the police will find the baby soon.”

  “I have this feeling that they’ll never find him.” Nancy’s voice had gone low.

  “Why do you say that? Maybe this was a deranged woman who just wants a baby of her own and she didn’t go far.”

  “I don’t think a deranged woman would have a keycard and know the security code. I think there’s a black-market baby ring at work.”

  Fear grabbed Everett’s heart. “It’s a long jump to that conclusion.” He didn’t want Nancy going down that road.

  “I’ve been hearing things,” Nancy said.

  “What kind of things?” He tried to keep his voice steady.

  “Remember those two couples I told you about who were turned down by the adoption agency?”

  Everett’s heart was racing now.

  “One of the other nurses told me both of them have babies now. How could that have happened so quickly?”

  Everett knew exactly how. “Private adoptions occur all the time. Remember, I told you I have a friend who’s a lawyer in that field. I spoke to Brian and Carrie Summers about it, but they didn’t want to go that route.”

  “Maybe they should have,” Nancy said sadly. “I still think I should go to the police and tell them what I think.”

  “That’s not a good idea. If you do, they could start an investigation into Children’s Connection. That’ll damage its reputation.”

  “Its reputation won’t mean anything if more of this goes on. I really think I should talk to the police about this. I’ll go in the morning.”

  Everett felt a noose tightening around his neck. “You can’t do that, Nancy!”

  “Why not? I—”

  Suddenly Everett heard voices in the background on Nancy’s end.

  She muttered into the phone, “Wait a minute.”

  There was silence for a few seconds while sweat broke out on his brow.

  When she came back she said, “Everett, I’ve got to go. I thought I was off for the night, but one of the internists has a question about a patient I cared for. I’ll talk to you later.”

  And she was gone.

  “Nancy? Nancy?”

  She couldn’t go to the police. She just couldn’t. His head was pounding and he didn’t know what to do. He’d had another one of those “visions” earlier. A tall man was clasping his hand. They were in a baseball stadium. He could feel the little-kid excitement of being someplace big and noisy, and seeing real baseball players for the first time. Then the vision…the memory had faded. That man had been his real father. Lester Baker, the man who had stolen him, had never taken him to a baseball game.

  Everett shook off the memory of a happy life as well as memories of his time with Jolene and Lester Baker…memories
of a family that was so dysfunctional it defined the word.

  Whatever past pictures his mind held, he didn’t have time for them now. He had to call Charlie. He had to find out what to do about Nancy.

  Everett had been watching TV on his brown leather couch when Nancy had called. Now, with his cordless phone in hand, he punched in Charlie’s cell phone number.

  Charlie didn’t pick up on the first ring, or the third, and Everett was starting to panic. But then he heard, “Yeah, Baker. Whaddaya want?”

  Everett knew Charlie had caller ID and always screened his calls. “Where are you?” Everett wanted to know.

  “I’m at my sister’s. She’s changing the kid now and cooing all over him like she was his mother. What’s up? Do you have the name of a couple for me?”

  “No. I’m afraid we’ve got trouble. Nancy’s putting too many things together. She suspects somebody took the Sanders kid to make money.”

  “How does she suspect? Unless you told her—”

  “I haven’t told her anything. Do you think I’m crazy? I don’t want to get caught any more than you do. Some nurse told her about couples who got turned down by the agency, then suddenly had babies a month later.”

  Charlie whistled through his teeth, and then swore. “So who’s she talked to about all this?”

  “Just me, so far. She wants to go to the police, though. Tomorrow.”

  Dead silence met his statement, and Everett knew immediately he had done the wrong thing. He never should have called the Stork.

  “I’m glad you called me with this, Baker. I’ll take care of it. I’ll take care of it tonight.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “What do you think I’m going to do? Don’t you worry about Nancy Allen. We’ll both be safer without her. Now I gotta get goin’. You find me another couple, Baker. And find one fast, or I’ll be givin’ my sister your cut.”

  At that, the phone went silent.

  Fifteen minutes later, as a cold drizzle trickled down his windshield, Everett parked in one of the parking places designated for hospital staff near the emergency room at Portland General and hurried inside, well aware of two squad cars also in the parking lot. This might be the stupidest move he’d ever made. But he couldn’t let anything happen to Nancy, and he knew something was going to happen to her tonight if he wasn’t with her.

  Understanding how dedicated she was to her career, he’d guessed she’d still be at the hospital. And he was right. After he inquired about her at the desk, the nurse on duty pointed down a corridor that led to examination rooms. The nurse, who recognized Everett from his frequent comings and goings to see Nancy, said, “Officially, she’s off duty. Remind her she has to get some sleep. She’s taking over my shift tomorrow night so I can go to my son’s open house at school.”

  “I’ll remind her,” Everett answered, having no plan in mind at all.

  All he knew was that he had to keep Nancy safe. She was the best thing that had ever happened to him. She was the only person who had ever really listened to him. She didn’t seem to mind that he didn’t always know what to say, especially to a woman. He’d never had a real relationship before because before he’d paid women for the pleasure of sex.

  His yearning for Nancy had gotten stronger every time he was with her. In fact, he’d backed away over and over again, at first, to keep himself disentangled from unknown territory, and then for her sake, because of what he’d been doing and what he’d become. Tonight, though, he had to figure out how to stop Charlie and whatever he’d planned to do to Nancy.

  Moments later he found her exiting an examination cubicle. As soon as she saw him, she smiled, and in spite of everything that was going on, he felt lighter inside.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  “You sounded upset on the phone. I thought you might get tied up here for hours if there was questioning. Thought you might need some company.”

  “The police were finished with us before I called you. I should have said something to them then.”

  “That’s one of the reasons I came to pick you up. I want to talk to you about that.”

  “You came to pick me up?” She looked perplexed.

  “I know you’re off now, and I thought maybe I could take the day off tomorrow.” He could feel a flush crawling up his neck. “I thought I could take you home and—”

  “You’ll spend the night?” Her eyes were wide. She’d invited him to stay before and he hadn’t.

  “Yes, I’ll stay the night. Then tomorrow, if you want me there—”

  “I want you there.” Her eyes moistened, and Everett felt his whole heart coming alive in a way it never had before.

  In the car, Everett thought about what he should be doing and saying. He’d never known affection, so it was hard for him to show affection. Yet with Nancy, he knew he had to push past the curtain that had always seemed to surround his life and reach for more—even if he only might have it for an hour, or a day, or a week.

  With one hand on the steering wheel, he reached over to her and laid a hand on her knee. “You must be exhausted. You pulled a double shift, didn’t you?”

  “Yes. But right now I’m anything but tired.”

  He heard the slight teasing in her voice, the slight edge of seductiveness. That was meant for him.

  Ten minutes later, Nancy was using her key to let herself into her apartment. Everett couldn’t help but look over his shoulder. Nancy’s apartment complex was on the outskirts of Portland. She was on the ground floor, and Everett now saw that as a detriment for security’s sake. All of the apartments had sliding glass doors in the back that led into the dining area of the kitchen. There wasn’t much he could do to make glass doors really secure.

  Taking her to his place wouldn’t be much better. Although he wasn’t on the ground floor, a fire escape went up the back of his building. It was old, and the window latches weren’t that tight. All he could do was protect Nancy during the night and convince her not to go to the police. He’d wrestle with the problem of Charlie in the morning.

  As Nancy entered her living room, she picked up a stray newspaper, a mug of tea she’d left on the coffee table. Her apartment was everything his wasn’t. She had plants everywhere, from African violets to a potted palm. The love seat and chair were upholstered in a rose-and-green floral print, which added to the feeling of a garden. She had fern-green drapes on the windows. The caramel-colored braided rug on the floor matched the oak furniture, as well as the frames around the Victorian cottage prints on the wall. Nancy’s apartment was light and warmth and welcome. His was utilitarian, sparse and empty of the life he felt here.

  “I didn’t straighten up,” she said, looking embarrassed. “I didn’t expect to have…company.”

  Crossing to her, he took the newspaper from her hand and laid it back on the sofa. “You don’t have to straighten up for me. I don’t care how neat your place is.”

  A wealth of emotions seemed to cross her face. “I’ve been waiting for tonight for weeks.”

  “Then let’s not wait any longer.”

  All the way home in the car, Carrie tried to rehearse words for what she had to say. But words seemed to scatter with thoughts of Lisa…with the idea of Timothy Jacob missing…with the vision of Brian’s face when he heard the news.

  The rain stopped and started again as they drove. She watched a rivulet travel down the window, her heart trembling with worry about Timothy, her stomach tight with dread because of what came next. She wished for an escape from what she had to do, but she knew the truth had been a long time coming.

  Brian hadn’t said a word since they’d left the hospital. He parked in the garage, and after they entered the house he reset the security system. What good were security systems?

  “How could a baby disappear from a nursery?” she asked him now. “Alarms and codes and the latest technological bells and whistles can’t keep anyone safe, can they?”

  They’d reached the kitchen
when Brian answered, “Maybe it was a false sense of security. Someone should have been in that nursery every minute.” His hand clenched into a fist and he brought it down on the granite counter.

  Crossing to him, Carrie covered his fist with her hand. “Don’t. You’re only going to hurt yourself.”

  “I want to wring somebody’s neck. I want to be out there on the streets searching myself. Maybe that’s what I should do.” He checked his watch. “And while I do it, I’ll call the private investigator my firm’s used in the past for background checks. Maybe he’ll find something the police can’t.”

  When Brian would have started for the garage again, she grabbed his arm. “Wait. I have to talk to you.”

  “Carrie, I know women handle this kind of thing by talking, by going over it again and again. But I have to do something.”

  She released his arm. “I know you do. But please, let me say what I have to say before I lose the courage.”

  Focused on her, he gave her his full attention now as he stood perfectly still. “Why would you need courage to tell me anything?”

  As soon as the words were out of his mouth, something about him changed. His back became ramrod-straight, his eyes narrowed and his mouth was a tight line until he asked, “Are you having an affair? Is that what you’re hiding?”

  “No! How could you even suspect that of me?”

  “Because something hasn’t been right between us. Something besides not being able to have a baby.”

  “Something hasn’t been right since the day we got married,” she admitted. But when his expression became even grimmer, she hurried to say, “Not that I don’t love you, that I didn’t love you. I did. And do. And always will.”

  “Then what is it?” His voice was patient but frustrated…patient but strained on the edge of an emotion she was perched on herself.

  There was no way to wrap the truth in a pretty package. The time had come for complete honesty, and she had to just tell him what had happened. “When I was eighteen, I was raped.”

  It took a few moments for her words to sink in. When they did, he swore. “My God, Carrie. Why didn’t you ever tell me?”