Grievous Sin

Cindy broke off and whispered, “Daddy, you’re shouting.”

Decker stopped. “Dad on the rampage, huh?”

Calm down, Deck.

“I’m all right, Cindy.” Decker gave her a forced smile.

And remember to unclench your jaw.

Sighing, Cindy hooked her arm around her father’s. “I understand your feelings. I’d be upset, too. As a matter of fact, I am upset! I was panicked, seeing all those babies and not knowing what to do. Watching Hannah has really turned into an awesome responsibility.”

Decker digested that. “You’re right. It’s not what you’re supposed to be doing. It was just that Rina needed me very badly. But now, you and Hannah need me more. You go on home. I’ll stay with Hannah.”

“Daddy, I didn’t mean that.”

“I know. I just want you to go home and get some sleep, okay?”

Cindy looked down.

“Princess, it has nothing to do with trust. You’re as capable as I am, we both know that. We also both know that I’m not going to be able to sleep a wink until Hannah is out of here. You know how I am once I get a bug in my brain. So humor me, okay?”

“I understand. Would you like me to look after Rina?”

“No, I’d like you to go home and get some sleep.”

“I can sleep on your cot, Daddy. If Rina needs something, I can get it for her. Besides, I’ve gotten to know Hannah. Maybe Rina would enjoy hearing all about her. How often she sleeps, how often she eats, how many ounces she drinks, how often she poops.”

Decker laughed. “That’s really nice, Cindy. And yes, I think Rina would really like to hear all about Hannah.”

“It’s her first daughter.”

“Yeah.” Decker winked at her. “Something special about those first daughters.”

Cindy smiled.

Decker said, “Go bunk down in the cot. When Rina wakes up, tell her we switched places. Don’t tell her what just happened. No sense scaring her.”

“I’ll just tell her you were giving me a sleep break.”

“That’s good.” Decker looked around. “I need a gown, don’t I?”

“Yes. Oh, here’s Darlene. Can you get my father a gown? He’s going to spend some time with Hannah.”

Darlene didn’t answer. She looked dazed.

“What is it, Darlene?” Decker said tensely. “Is everything all right?”

“It’s …” Darlene put her hand to her mouth. “I don’t know where the devil Marie is. I’ve paged her and … this is … I …”

Decker regarded the nurse’s face—as white and blank as an empty canvas. Her voice was unnatural; her hands were shaking. He said, “Sit down and tell us what’s wrong.”

She gazed helplessly at Cindy. “I’ve called Security. They’re going to want to talk to you.”

“Me?” Cindy felt her chest tighten. “Why do they want to talk to me?”

“What’s wrong?” Decker said louder.

“It’s crazy …” Darlene muttered. “She came back at twelve-oh-five. She was on her way here when I left to help out in some of the other nurseries.”

“Who was here?” Cindy said. “Marie? Marie hasn’t been here for the past hour.”

“I can’t seem to locate … It’s simply not … and Marie’s not answering her page. It’s crazy. In all my years as a nurse, I’ve never … I mean you read …” Again she faced Cindy. “Somebody had to have been here, Cindy. Someone must have been in the nursery.”

“Maybe somebody was here, Darlene,” Cindy said. “I was with Hannah. I wasn’t in the main nursery—”

“So you must have seen someone. Who did you see?”

“I didn’t see anyone. I was busy with Hannah.”

“Why are you interrogating my daughter?” Decker said.

“I’m not interrogating. I’m just asking—”

“Why?”

“If only Marie …”

“Why does Security want to talk to my daughter?” Decker said forcefully.

“Because she isn’t here.” Darlene began to shake all over. “And Cindy was probably the last person to see her.”

“But you said you saw Marie in the hallway, Darlene,” Cindy said. “That would make you the last person to see Marie.”

“No, not Marie!” Darlene burst into tears. “It’s one of the infants! I can’t find Baby Girl Rodriguez!”

12

Nose pressed to the glass, Decker stared at the newborns—things no bigger than a rib roast, completely helpless … sinless. His heart went out to them, knowing that life would dish out a fair amount of dirt even if they were lucky. Baby Girl Rodriguez’s safety net had unraveled just a few days into her existence. His eyes traveled over the infants of differing races and sexes until they landed on an empty layette. His heart began to pound.

“Hey, Sergeant.”

Decker spun around, startled by the interruption.

Officer Brian Harlow. He’d been in uniform nearly three decades. He was still muscular and fit, but the years were there. Hair that was more silver than blond, a gut straining the buttons of his shirt. Vanity probably prevented him from admitting he needed a larger size. Harlow ran his fingers through his slicked-back hair.

“We’ve done three passes through the lots, through the immediate neighborhood, too.” He shook his head. “No sign of the red Honda. It’s still dark, not easy to tell colors, but we’ll keep trying. Should be better when the sun comes up. In the meantime, do you want to put out an APB on the car?”

“Yeah, call it in.”

Harlow clapped his hands together. “You got it.”

“Any action by Bellson’s apartment?”

“Just talked to the cruisers. Everything’s quiet.”

“No movement inside?”

“Nothing.”

“Any lights?”

“Black as a well,” Harlow said. “When do you think the warrant’ll come through?”

“Probably take another hour or so,” Decker said. “Hollander couldn’t get through to the first two judges. Finally, he managed to locate a third and wake him up. He’s on his way to His Honor’s house as we speak.”

“How’s the baby’s mother?”

“Lourdes Rodriguez,” Decker stated. “Detective Dunn’s with her now.”

“I’ll call in that APB.” Harlow slapped Decker’s back. “Congratulations on your kid, by the way.”

“Thanks.”

Decker checked his watch. Darlene had last seen Marie around midnight. If Marie had taken off with the baby, she’d have a big jump on them. He had sent some uniforms to watch her apartment. So far nothing.

Why would a woman who had worked with babies for years suddenly snatch a kid? A latent maternal longing? A fit of madness? Maybe she’d done it against her will. Some psycho sticking a gun to her temples and forcing her to take the baby. It was that very thought that scared Decker the most—Marie and the infant in the hands of a psycho.

Slipping his hands into his pockets, he glared at the security guard. Guy was pissed, probably felt usurped—too damn bad. He and his guard buddies had had their chance, and they’d blown it with a capital B. Not that TECHWATCH Securities International wasn’t working overtime, covering its butt, hoping to keep the liability down.

Good luck, pal.

Mom was hysterical now, not even thinking about litigation. But after a day or two, even if the baby was recovered safely, odds were that the security firm and the hospital would get phone calls from a heavy-breathing lawyer.

Marge walked over to him, notebook in hand. “How’s it going, Rabbi?”

Decker stuck out splayed fingers and rotated his wrist back and forth. “How’s Lourdes Rodriguez?”

“Sleeping.”

“Get a chance to talk to her?”

“A little. She isn’t married to the father, but they’re together—boyfriend/girlfriend. She couldn’t imagine Papa stealing their baby. Or forcing Marie to steal the baby. As a matter of fact, she grew hysterical at the prospect of telling him what happened. She’s afraid of what he might do.”

“To her?”

“To her, more like to the hospital.” Marge raised her eyebrows. “Seems Matty likes to play with matches and owns a firearm or two—”

“Jesus!”

“If I were you, I’d get Rina out of here.”

“She’s leaving at ten this morning. We’d better put a watch on this guy once he’s informed. What’s his full name?”

“Matthew Luke Lopez.”

“Did he Anglicize his name?”

“No, it’s his legal name. He’s American born but was raised in the barrio. Lourdes said he has a good heart, but a bad temper.”

“Tell me something new,” Decker said under his breath. “How old is he?”

“Seventeen, eighteen. Lourdes wasn’t sure.”

“Prime age for impulse.”

“Yeah, I thought about that.” Marge stopped talking. “In all fairness to Matty, Lourdes wasn’t making a lot of sense. Doc upped her dose of sedatives. She’s completely zonked out now, poor kid.” She pushed wisps of hair out of her brown eyes. “Man, this is just horrible! So close to home. You must be freaked.”

“Yeah, I’m a little …” Decker was quiet. “Did you get anything out of the Rodriguez family?”

“Mamacita is with Lourdes now. She speaks broken English, refers to her sons a lot.”

“Lourdes’s brothers are here?”

“Waiting for me in the lobby. I kicked them out of the hospital room early on. Which didn’t endear me to the clan. But I couldn’t get anything done with three mucho macho guys hanging over my shoulder. I did tell them to stick around, that I’d want to talk to all of them. That didn’t set right with them, either. Guess their prior experiences with the police haven’t been positive. At least I feel I’m earning my money. You want me to interview the nurse who was on duty?”

“Darlene Jamison,” Decker said. “No, I’ll handle her. I did a quick interview with her right when it happened. She wasn’t making much sense, either. But she did give me an approximate timetable of her whereabouts. She was where she said she was. But I’m far from done with her.”

“Where is she?”

“In the nurses’ station, making arrangements with her baby-sitter to stay a little longer. I’m angry as hell at the woman, but I do feel for her. She looks genuinely shaken. And she’s probably worried about her own derriere. She’s got some liability in this.” Decker looked at his watch again. “It’s been about fifteen minutes. I’ll give her another five minutes, then we’ll go over it again.”

Marge paused. “What do you want to do with Cindy?”

“She’s with Rina. You can interview her just as soon as my ex–father-in-law gets in.”

“Don’t you think you’re overdoing it by getting her a lawyer?”

“It’s not her lawyer, Marge, it’s her grandfather. Jack was adamant that she not say anything until he comes down. What the heck.” He shrugged. “Do you want me to assign someone else to do the interviewing?”

“No, Pete, I’m comfortable with it,” Marge said. “Cindy’s a witness, not a suspect. As a matter of fact, I’ll take over the entire case if you want. You still have time off. Maybe it would be better if you spent it with Rina. There’ll be plenty of other cases to bust.”

“I keep trying to tell myself that. That I shouldn’t be working. But then …” He slammed his fist into his open palm. “Marge, it could have been Hannah! If Cindy hadn’t been with her, who knows? I owe it to that little baby girl to find her. I owe it to her and to her mother.”

“Pete, everyone’s busting their chops with this one. The case is top priority. Hospital’s sealed. We’re going to interview anyone who passed through these hallways, anyone on duty, and anyone just hanging around. Cameras will be down for the morning news—we’re gonna get the word out about this little girl in a big way. You owe something to Rina, too.”

“You know what Rina will say, Marge.”

“Find the kid.”

“Find the kid,” Decker repeated.

Marge gave up. “So how do you want to divide this?”

“I’ll investigate Marie Bellson. Someone just brought up her work file from Personnel. After I’m done with Darlene, I’ll go through that. I’ll also call back Hollander and find out if the warrant came through. When it does, I’m planning to visit Bellson’s place personally.”

“Fine. After I’m done dueling with the Rodriguez boys, I’ll go over the interviews the uniforms are doing on the staff. Find out who saw what. See if the blues missed anything. How many do we have assigned to do the job?”

“Twelve—two per floor. Mike said he’d help you just as soon as he’s done obtaining the warrant.”

“That’s good.”

“Go over the accounts with a magnifying glass, Marge.”

“I’m glad you told me that, Pete. Otherwise I would have been slipshod.”

Decker frowned. “How ’bout cutting me a little slack, partner?”

“Sorry.”

“I was talking as much to myself as I was to you.”

“I know.” Marge patted his shoulder—the one without the old bullet wound. “Just relax and concentrate on this Bellson lady.”

There was a moment of silence. Decker said, “Do I make a lot of condescending remarks like that?”

“Occasionally.”

“You know I don’t mean anything by it. I think you’re top-notch.”

“I know, Pete. It’s okay.” Marge rubbed her eyes and looked up. “Cindy’s counsel’s here.”

Decker waved his ex–father-in-law over. Jack Cohen was in his midsixties but still walked and talked and dressed like a young man. He had a sprightly voice, bright blue eyes, and a quick comeback for every remark. He could be fun to be around because his aggression was tempered by wit. Not so his daughter. “Counselor Cohen,” Decker said. “My partner, and Cindy’s interviewer, Detective Dunn.”

“We’ve met before, but it’s a pleasure.” Cohen shook hands with Marge. “Where’s my girl?”

“She’s with Rina,” Decker said. “I’ll call her now that you’re here. Thanks for coming down, Jack. It’s probably not necessary—”

“It can’t hurt.” Cohen tugged on his jacket lapel. “She sounded upset, Peter. Scared. It’s good you called me. I want to be with her, not because she’s in trouble, but because she’s my granddaughter and I love her.” He turned to Marge. “Let me talk to her for a few minutes, then we’ll talk to you.”

“Sounds good,” Marge said.

Cohen shook Decker’s hand. “Congratulations on your new little girl, Pete.”

Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.