Find My Baby Read online

  ****

  At this hour of the night, Kayla had thought Houston’s police station would be quiet with dim lights, muted voices, and little traffic; like a hospital in the middle of the night when the patients were asleep.

  But curses from those handcuffed and led to cells echoed through the space. Blue uniformed officers manhandled those unwilling to cooperate.

  A middle-aged man staggered between two officers and suddenly lurched out of their grip. Kayla held her breath as he ducked his head like a football player and tried to barrel his way out the door. Missing the opening, he banged his head against the wall. Laughing, the officers grabbed him by each arm and none too gently led him away.

  Kayla turned her attention to the kid across the room. Handcuffed to a chair, he looked all of thirteen. She felt sorry for him until she saw the hard look in his eyes, the sneer on his lips.

  This was her first encounter with the police. Not even a traffic or parking ticket. Would they believe her story? Help her find Sam?

  Panic started its familiar dance through her system. Taking a deep breath, she coughed as breath caught in her throat. Be strong. Think of Sam.

  A female officer came toward her. Tidy, chin length brown hair framed a thin, hawk-like face. Dark eyes flashed over Kayla. In those few seconds, Kayla knew the officer had sized her up and determined whether she was going to be helpful or not, whether she was going to believe Kayla or not.

  “I’m Detective Molly Wagner,” the detective said, leading the way to a small room down the hall.

  “Will you help me find Sam?” Kayla asked.

  “Let’s start at the beginning. Tell me what happened,” Detective Wagner said, motioning Kayla to take a seat.

  Swallowing down her panic, she told how she was kidnapped, delivered Sam and finally, weeks later, escaped. “If Buddy Thorpe hadn’t stopped his eighteen-wheeler,” Kayla concluded, “I’d be dead. The man chasing me shot several times. Buddy scared him off. When the police came, I told them what happened. They drove me around for about thirty minutes trying to find the house.” She shook her head. “It was impossible in the dark. Then they brought me here. I don’t know who the kidnappers were. I certainly don’t know why they sent someone to kill me. I only know they took Sam and I have to find him.”

  “I see,” Detective Wagner said, giving Kayla a searching look. “Do you think you can find the house in daylight?

  Kayla rubbed her forehead. She’d been in the back of a van when taken there. It was dark when she’d escaped. “I’ll find it,” she said grimly.

  The detective gave her a skeptical look. “Two people, a man and a woman, kept you in a house for weeks and you don’t know where. You gave birth and they took your son away. You escaped while your captors were in the bathroom cleaning, then someone else came into the house and you ran. The man running after you had a gun and tried to kill you. Now the baby is missing? Did I get it right?”

  “That’s about it.” Kayla leaned across the table. “If you’ll give me paper and pen, I’ll draw their picture. Sam’s too. Then you’ll have something to go on.”

  In seconds, the detective had a pad and pen. It didn’t take Kayla long to draw the likeness of the woman kidnapper, drew the male with a mask. But his long ponytail and pockmarked face would be recognizable. Then she took another piece of paper and drew a sketch of Sam. “Isn’t he beautiful?” she asked when she finished.

  Looking into the face of the baby, the detective smiled. “He is.”

  “You’ll help me find him?”

  “First, let’s have you checked out,” Detective Wagner said, as she pushed back her chair and took Kayla’s arm.

  “Where are we going?”

  “The hospital. Let’s see if they knew what they were doing when you delivered.”

  Kayla balked. “I’m fine. You have to concentrate on Sam.” Her pleas fell on deaf ears.

  Two hours later they were back at the station. Kayla was put in the same room, at the same table, her hands twisting in her lap.

  Where was the detective? What was she doing?

  Kayla hated this waiting. It was time lost when they should be looking for Sam.

  Her head swam. She rubbed at it, begged her brain to think.

  Glancing up, she saw the mirror, wondered who was behind it watching—listening.

  Did they believe her?

  If so, they were asking all the wrong questions.

  She shivered. What would she do if they didn’t look for Sam? What if they didn’t believe her? How could she find him on her own?

  The door opened and Detective Wagner walked back in. Kayla sat up straighter. She had to make this woman believe her.

  The detective took a seat and asked the same questions she’d already asked. Kayla tried to answer without letting her frustration show.

  Then in a crisp, no-nonsense voice, the detective snapped, “Tell me what you did with your baby, Kayla!”

  Kayla looked at the woman in horror. “I didn’t,” she sputtered. “Call the FBI. They’ll find Sam. Please,” she begged. “You can’t possibly think I hurt him.”

  The detective jotted notes on a yellow pad, lifted her eyes and stared at Kayla. “It’ll go better for you if you tell us the truth.”

  “I did. You have to believe me! I didn’t hurt Sam! I wouldn’t hurt him. Ever.”

  Kayla couldn’t control herself any longer. Her hands shook as she grabbed the detective’s arm. “Please.”

  But the woman just sat there looking at her with total distrust.

  Kayla dropped her head in her hands. There had to be a way. Had to be.

  Lifting her head, she said, “I need to use the restroom.”

  Chapter Two

  Thirty minutes later, Kayla slumped in the back seat of a yellow cab, drew a deep breath, and wondered what to do next. She had to find a safe place to hide until she could formulate a plan to search for Sam.

  Where would that be?

  She had no close friends. No relatives. She sat up as a thought came to her. There was one. And Kayla knew where she lived.

  “Where to, Lady?” the driver asked.

  “Do you know where the Wal-Mart is off I-45?”

  “There’s a couple. Which one?”

  She told him and sat back. Aunt Nester lived a few blocks from the big box store; at least she had when Kayla was younger. Her mom had made the comment more than once that Nester would die in that house, that she had no ambition to move, or to travel.

  It sounded wonderful to Kayla, whose life had been spent moving from one town to another while her mother searched for whatever she was trying to find. Whatever it was, she never found it, and had died of cancer in a in a small town with no friends or relatives to mourn her passing.

  Her aunt was twenty years older than Kayla’s mother. So that made her at least seventy. Was she still alive? Was she too old to help? Would she take one look at Kayla and turn her out?

  The questions pounded in her head as the cab sped down the Texas freeway. They were there all too soon.

  “It’s after midnight, Lady. Store isn’t open. You sure you want out here?”

  Kayla nodded, then paid him with the emergency money she always kept in the lining of her shoe and stepped out into the cold night air.

  Orientating herself, she started out for the six-block walk.

  By the time she knocked on her aunt’s door, her teeth were chattering from both cold and from anxiety.

  “I’m coming.” A woman’s voice came from inside. “Who is it?”

  “Aunt Nester, let me in.”

  “Do I know you?” the voice spoke through the door.

  “Please, Aunt Nester. It’s Kayla. Let me in. I can explain.”

  “Kayla?” she asked in a disbelieving voice. “Meredith’s daughter?”

  “Yes! Please. Hurry!”

  She was freezing and didn’t know how much longer she could handle the cold. But thank God, her aunt was still here, living in the same house she’d lived in when Kayla’s mother was growing up.

  Nester opened the door. Kayla fell in.

  “Good Lord, child, you’re frozen.” And took a step back. “You are Kayla. You’re the spitting image of your mother.”

  Kayla stood in the warmth, let it wash over her, soothe her. The woman who stared at her as if she were either a mirage or a wild woman looked nothing like Kayla’s mother.

  She looked down at herself; her sweats were torn and dirty, her body shaking. What must this aunt she hadn’t seen in years think?

  Seeing the concern in the older woman’s eyes, Kayla ran to her, wrapped her arms around her neck. “Please help me, Aunt Nester. I’m in trouble. I had nowhere else to go.”

  Nester’s arms went around Kayla, and despite the circumstance of her dilemma, warmth stole over her. The warmth disappeared for a moment as her aunt rushed into the next room, then came back with a quilt and wrapped it around Kayla’s shoulders. “It’s all right, child. Come. We’ll sit in the living room and you can tell me all about it.”

  “Please help me, Aunt Nester. They kidnapped me and stole Sam. I escaped, but someone tried to kill me. Now the police think I killed my baby.”

  Aunt Nester gave a startled gasp, then looked as if she didn’t know where to begin to ask questions.

  Kayla shouldn’t have come here. Aunt Nester was too old to get involved in something so horrible and so dangerous. What was she thinking? But she needed to be somewhere safe.

  “I haven’t seen you since you were a little girl. Now you show up in the wee hours of the morning to tell me about a kidnapping and attempted murder.” She laid a hand against her heart. “Are you sure you’re not exaggerating? Murder and kidnapping are serious business.”

  “More than serious,” Kayla countered.

  “I had no idea you lived in Houston. How did you know where to find me?”

  “I’ve been here almost a year. My apartment is on the other side of town. Mother showed me where you lived years ago. Not too long ago, I looked up your number in the phone book. I wanted to call you, but I was afraid you’d hang up. Now I’m in trouble.” Breathless, she continued, “Give me a minute and I’ll try to explain.”

  “I’ll make you a cup of hot tea. It will warm you.”

  In minutes she placed the warm cup in Kayla’s trembling hands. “Take a few sips, then tell me about this trouble you’re in.”

  Kayla took a swallow and let the warmth slide through her. Then, balancing the cup in her lap, wrapped the quilt tightly around her shoulders. “I don’t know where to begin. First, let me apologize. I wouldn’t come here if I weren’t desperate. I know you and Mom didn’t get along. But I’m not my mother. If you’ll let me stay a couple of days, I won’t bother you again.”

  With trembling hands, she picked up her cup again. “They kidnapped my baby, Aunt Nester. They’ve taken Sam and I don’t know where he is.” Another sob tore through her.

  “The police…” Nester began.

  Kayla crumpled. “They think I killed him.”

  The TV was on. Evidently Aunt Nester had been watching. Kayla’s gaze went to it when she heard her name.

  The local channel had a newsbreak that showed her picture.

  “Oh!” Aunt Nester whispered, looking from the TV back to Kayla.

  Kayla’s ears roared. She had to hold onto herself to keep from passing out. “I don’t believe it. How could they do that?”

  “The police want you to come in for questioning as a person of interest.” Nester stared at her niece. Kayla’s hands shook so hard that the cup slipped from her fingers. Nester grabbed the cup, then Kayla.

  The next thing Kayla remembered was her aunt’s concerned eyes as she wiped her face with a damp cloth.

  ****

  Luke Garrett stared at the clock. He’d seen every hour roll around since he’d hit the sack. Finally, the clock read six. He couldn’t stay in bed another minute. “Damn case, it’s going to make an old man out of me.”

  The captain seemed to pick the worst cases to dump in his lap. Few had been as bad as this one. Luke’s reputation as a hard core Freon-nerved son-of-a-bitch, who solved more cases than any other cop in the department had earned Luke and his partner Terry Maguire this dubious honor. And it had them baffled.

  The Tanner murder had been a bitch from day one. Tanner, a wealthy, forty-five-year-old man had been shot at the base of the skull, execution style, his body found by wife number two and her best friend. Convenient as hell since it gave the wife a solid alibi. Jewels had been stolen, insured of course. And the wife had inherited everything, including a ten-million-dollar life insurance policy. Luke would bet his badge she’d staged the whole thing and hired a killer to do the deed. But without a witness or solid evidence to prove his theory she’d go free.

  The case and lack of evidence kept Luke up more nights than he cared to admit. He’d told Terry just today, or was it yesterday, that they were losing their touch.

  Terry was his best friend as well as his partner. As an added plus, they worked well together. If they didn’t find something on the widow or some evidence leading to another suspect soon, they’d have to chalk this one up and it would end in the cold case file. That scenario didn’t set well with either of them.

  Luke poured a cup of coffee and sipped it as he stared out the kitchen window. Dawn was late coming in mid-December. It was going to be another cold, damp day. At least he didn’t have to go in.

  It was a rare Saturday off and Luke was more than glad to give the case from hell a rest.

  He owed his mother a visit. Even after all these years, every time he thought or said the word mother, that same stab of resentment pulsed through him.

  He’d been adopted. Not a bad thing, but his adoptive parents had kept it from him. Rosie was everything a mother should be. Loving, caring, thoughtful. So what if she had lied about his paternity­­? So what if she wasn’t his biological mother? He was a grown man with a career in law enforcement. Rosie was a widow living alone, who on occasion needed his help. And he loved her.

  The last time they’d talked, she’d had a list of chores. A couple of light bulbs needed replacing. Her outside hose bibbs should be wrapped for the predicted freeze. And her pilot light wouldn’t stay lit on her hot water heater.

  If only he could get her to move closer where he could check on her more easily and more often. But he’d been down that road to no avail. Rosie wasn’t getting any younger. Neither was her best friend, Nester Green. Both women were stubborn, but it was past time to make a change. Today wasn’t the day to discuss the issue. Instead, he’d stop by Home Depot and pick up what he needed. Filters probably needed changing, too.

  From experience, he knew Nester also had a list. He didn’t mind doing odd jobs for the two of them. On the contrary, he looked forward to his visits and the chores. He just wanted them out of that area of town. What had once been a blue-collar neighborhood of young couples raising their children was now a high-crime area. It wasn’t unusual to see a drug buy going on down the street. Worse, gangs had all but taken over and it wasn’t safe to go out.

  Luke thought the only thing keeping Rosie and Nester safe now was that everyone in the neighborhood knew he was a cop.

  ****

  Kayla woke with a start in a strange bed, a strange room. For a frantic second, the thought she was back in the house where she’d been held prisoner.

  Then she saw the old-fashioned dresser with the lace doilies, the frilly curtains on the window. And it all came rushing back.

  Sam was gone.

  Curling into a ball, she remembered everything.

  And the cops wouldn’t help her.

  Tears from her restless night soaked the pillow. Now, a scream of frustrated fear raced to her throat. She took an unsteady breath, forced herself to stay calm and think. She had to stop dwelling on the terror of her ordeal. She was free and it was time for action.

  She took a deep breath. Even though she didn’t know who took Sam or where to look for him, she was going to find him. The longer he was gone, the harder it would be. That’s what all the crime shows on TV said. But whether the police helped or not, she’d find her baby.

  Maybe Aunt Nester would help. An old woman? What could she do? Kayla hoped her aunt would at least give her the one thing she’d wanted all her life: support and stability. Something her mother had been incapable of doing.

  She’d thought she had that stability with Sam’s father. But David had proven the opposite of what she thought.

  Her dream to provide a stable home for her child had turned into a nightmare, but she’d get Sam and the dream back.

  To find Sam, she’d need money, but dared not access her puny bank account. It would be too dangerous with both the police and a killer looking for her. Kayla sat up against the headboard. One big plus on her side was that the cops knew nothing about her aunt. The second was that Aunt Nester might help her.

  A small amount of calm settled over her. Even if all her aunt could give was emotional support, Kayla would be grateful.

  Amazed at the physical difference between the sisters, Kayla compared her mother’s small and daintily pretty body with Nester’s tall and big-boned one. Not fat, just a big woman. Nester’s face was long and angular, her eyes dark and widespread. While Kayla’s mother had had cornflower blue eyes, a creamy sooth complexion and a smile that made you think you were the only person in her world.

  They were different in other ways, too.

  Her mother couldn’t stay in one place long. Kayla remembered coming home from school; excited she’d found a friend only to see her mother throwing their things in boxes for another move. Kayla couldn’t count how many times that scenario had played out in her short life.

  As far as she could tell, her aunt had lived in this same house all her life. Despite the fact that the sisters had nothing to do with one another all these years, Aunt Nester seemed to accept her. But did she believe her story?

  When her aunt had helped her with a shower last night, then tucked her into bed, Kayla had seen the questioning look in her eyes. She’d also seen the warmth and kindness.