Second Chair, A Stan Turner Mystery, Vol.4

by William Manchee

  *****

  After dropping off Sarah at her apartment where she had been staying the last few days of the trial, I got in my car and headed home. Exhausted both physically and mentally by the vicious emotional swings of the day, I began lamenting my career choice. Why in the hell I ever wanted to be an attorney. What I hated most was the constant fear and worry. I could never rest because there was always some pressing problem, some client who was depending on me to complete an impossible task or the lurking thought that I hadn't adequately prepared for one thing or another. Tonight, just when I thought I could go home and enjoy a peaceful evening with Rebekah and the kids, Sarah had dropped her bombshell.

  Okay, I said to myself, calm down. I began to analyze the problem. How could I find Sarah's baby, assuming she's alive and had been given to an adoptive family. Richard Stein must know where she is. I needed to talk to him, but not today, I was exhausted. Then I realized the police would be interrogating him right at that moment. I pulled off the freeway and looped back toward Sherman. I headed to the sheriff's office where I knew they had taken him. I went inside and spotted Lt. Meadows.

  "What are you doing here?" Meadows asked.

  "I want to talk to Richard Stein."

  "Well, I can't let you do that, . . . but I will let you watch us interrogate him."

  I nodded. "Okay, I'd like that. Thanks."

  "Listen," Lt. Meadows said. "I wanted to congratulate you and Snake. That was some performance today. I'm curious though, do you guys ever talk or do you work independently?"

  I laughed. "We haven't talked much the last few days."

  "I didn't think so. You were both running down completely opposite trails. I didn't think either one of you would find anything."

  "We got lucky, I guess."

  "I don't think luck had much to do with it."

  "Thank you, Lieutenant. I appreciate the compliment coming from a fine detective like yourself."

  "You know," Lt. Meadows said. "I envy you defense attorneys sometimes. You get to search for the good in people whereas I'm always forced to focus on their inherent evil nature."

  "Well, I guess it takes both approaches to find the truth sometimes.”

  Lt. Meadows nodded. "Let's go see what Mr. Stein has to say."

  "I'm ready," I said.

  We walked down a corridor to a small observation station adjacent to the interrogation room. Lt. Meadows, myself and Margie Westcott watched as one of the homicide detectives interrogated Richard Stein with his attorney, Rocky Valentino, present.

  "Mr. Stein, there's a lot I need to talk to you about but the most pressing issue right now is the whereabouts of the other Winter's baby. You heard Sarah Winters state in court that two men came and picked up her child, right?"

  "Yeah, I heard what she said," Stein said.

  "Who were you selling the babies to?" the detective asked.

  "I'm going to have to advise my client not to answer any question that might tend to incriminate him," Valentino said.

  "Listen. We’ve got three women just dying to testify against your client. That'll be plenty to put him behind bars for the rest of his life. But, if he cooperates and helps us shut down this baby-selling operation that would be significant. The judge would definitely take that into consideration at sentencing."

  "What are you offering?" Valentino asked.

  "Nothing but a statement to the Court that Mr. Stein was very cooperative and instrumental in shutting down this contemptible baby-selling operation. It can’t hurt you and it’s bound to cut your jail time."

  Valentino and Stein conferred a moment and then Valentino responded to the proposal. "All right, my client will accept your offer. What do you want to know?"

  "Who have you been selling your babies to?"

  "I don't know exactly who gets them, but I deal with an ex-attorney named Michael Simpson."

  "Where can we find Mr. Simpson?" the detective asked.

  "He doesn't have an office, you know. We always dealt by telephone or we'd meet at a mutually convenient public location.”

  "Do you know the men who picked up Sarah's baby?"

  "Not personally, you know, but I know how we can find them," Stein said.

  "How's that?"

  "I've got their phone number."

  "Will they talk to you?" the detective asked.

  Stein smiled. "No, but if the right young lady says she's in labor, they'll come a running, if you know what I mean."

  It was about eight-thirty when Lt. Meadows and I pulled up across the street from a small duplex on the east side of Sherman not too far from the ASU campus. Margie Westcott had declined Lt. Meadow's invitation to come along claiming she had a pressing engagement. After a minute Richard Stein pulled up into the driveway, got out and walked to the front door. He knocked and a young lady opened the door and let him in. She looked as if she was due any day. Stein was wired so I could listen-in to what was transpiring.

  "Hi, Veronica. How do you feel?"

  "Like a moose," she said. "I can't wait to shed all this extra weight. I get tired so easy and—"

  "Listen, Veronica, honey. We've got a little problem. You know the adoption agency we signed up with, well it turns out they're not legit."

  "What? How could that be?" Veronica said.

  "The police contacted me and told me they weren't properly licensed. They want us to help shut them down."

  "Oh, my God," Veronica said. "What do they want us to do?"

  "You need to call them. Tell them you're in labor so they'll come to get you."

  "But—"

  "Just call them, the police will take care of everything else."

  "What about the adoption?"

  "The police have promised to arrange for a legal adoption. You have nothing to worry about."

  "Are you sure?" Veronica said.

  "Yes, just make the call."

  Stein led Veronica over to the phone and handed it to her. She gave him a skeptical look and then dialed the number.

  "Yeah," a man said.

  "Hi, this is Veronica."

  "Oh, hi. What's wrong?"

  "I think it's time."

  "What? You're not due for another month," the man said.

  "I've got terrible contractions, it must be time."

  "Are you sure, did your water break?"

  "Yes, an hour ago."

  "Oh, Jesus. We'll be right over."

  Veronica handed Richard the phone. He took it from her and hung it up. She walked over to the sofa and sat down. Richard walked to the front window, pulled aside the shade and looked out. He took a deep breath.

  "Isn't this the shits?" Richard said. "You trust people and this is what happens to you."

  Veronica didn't respond. The squealing of brakes could be heard in the driveway. Veronica got up and went to the front door. There was a knock so she opened it. Lt. Meadows started his car, shifted into drive and moved quickly in behind the van to block its exit. Two unmarked police cars pulled behind the duplex. One officer went to the back door while another came around the side. The two men turned, looked at Lt. Meadows and realized what was happening. They glanced at each other and then took off in opposite directions.

   The shorter of the two men collided with the officer coming around the side of the house knocking his gun from his hand. He got up quickly and started running again. The officer behind the house suddenly appeared and said. "Freeze!"

  The man stopped and put his hands in the air. Down the street Lt. Meadows finally tackled the taller man about a block from the duplex. He rolled him over, pulled the man’s hands behind his back and cuffed him. Lt. Meadows got up and escorted the man back to his car.

  It was nearly ten when I got back to the station. While I was waiting for the interrogation of the two drivers, I called Rebekah.

  "Where have you been?" Rebekah said.

  "I'm sorry, honey. I'm at the police station. It's been an unbelievable day."

  "On TV they said the court recesse
d at 3:00 p.m. What have you been doing? I've been so worried."

  "I know. I should have called. I've been trying to track down Sarah's twin."

  "Tonight?"

  I explained what happened.

  "Why don't you just let the police handle it?" Rebekah asked.

  "I can't. The momentum has shifted our way. I've got to push as hard as I can to find the truth."

  "They said on TV you've proved Sarah innocent."

  "Innocent of killing one of her babies but not both."

  "Shit. Do you plan on coming home tonight?" Rebekah asked.

  "I don't know. It depends on what we learn from the two drivers."

  "Damn it! Stan. I'm worried about you. Please come home."

  "I will pretty soon, tell the kids I'm okay."

  After I hung up the phone, I got a call from Snake. He said he was close to locating some of the satanic cult members. He gave me an address and said to meet him there.As I approached the ASU campus, I wondered who we were meeting. Snake, as usual, didn't tell me much about what he was thinking, just that we needed to talk to someone. I parked in the parking lot adjacent to the library and waited. Soon Snake came out of the library and motioned for me to follow him. I did as I was told and in less than ten minutes we were in front of a big white frame house in a middle class neighborhood. As we walked up to the front door Snake advised me were meeting a man named Martin Wolf.

  He was a tall stout man in his mid-forties. I figured he was an ex-marine who probably saw time in Vietnam. Snake explained who we were and the man anxiously let us in.

  "That was quite an amazing day in trial," Martin said.

  "Yes, were you there?" Snake asked.

  "You're damn right I was. I'm sorry to say I wanted your client to spend the rest of her life in jail. Anger has a way of clouding good judgment. So why did you come to see me?"

  "Your organization, the Children of Despair. What are you an anti abortion group?"

  "No, abortion is only one of the threats against children that concern us. We also focus on infant murder, gang violence, child abuse, drugs, cults and anything else that threatens our children today."

  "That's quite an agenda," Snake said. "Is picketing a common tactic of your organization?"

  "Sometimes, where we want to draw public attention to an issue. We decided to use the Sarah Winters case because of the National Examiner witchcraft article. It wasn't that we believed any of the garbage in the article, it was just a great opportunity to focus the country's attention on the astounding number of infant murders in this county."

  I nodded. "I see."

  "Did you know in the Dallas Metroplex area there were eight known infant murders this year? The sad thing is the actual number is probably double or triple that. A lot of people get away with this particular crime because no one knows the child ever lived."

  "That is pretty disturbing. Listen, the reason for my visit is to find out if you know anything about a satanic cult in this area. Do you remember the child that was found incinerated the same night Sarah Winters had her twins?"

  "Yes, a sad night it was," Wolf said.

  "Well, I just visited the coroner and he speculates that some kind of satanic cult may have used the baby as a sacrifice. The child was killed with a dagger before she was burned."

  "A Black Mass."

  "What?" Snake said.

  "A Black Mass is a mockery of the catholic mass. The murder of an innocent child as the offering would be the ultimate insult to God."

  "Do you know of that ever happening here?"

  "There was a rumor of that a branch of the Church of Satan had been formed in this county last year. Malcolm Vector is the suspected leader of the group. They usually don't have to buy babies though, they normally have breeders."

  "Breeders?" I said.

  "Yes, some of the women in the cult do nothing but get pregnant so their babies can be sacrificed at birth."

  "Oh my God," I said. "You can't be serious?"

  "It's true. I swear to God it's true. That’s one of many reason we formed the Children of Despair."

  "Where can we find this Malcolm Vector?" Snake asked.

  "He lives in a trailer park about 10 miles south of here on Highway 5."

  "What does he look like?"

  "He's in his late twenties, tall, dark hair and rides a motorcycle with the license number MAL 666."

  I laughed. "Really, that'll make it easy."

  "Thanks for your help," Snake said and then we left.We decided it wasn't our place to be talking to Malcolm Vector so we went back to the police station to tell Meadows what we had found out. It was nearly 11:30 p.m. when we arrived. When Lt. Meadows saw us, he invited us into the interrogation observation room to watch and listen to one of the drivers being interrogated. I was exhausted and wanted to go home. I knew Rebekah was worried about me and she would be pissed if I didn't get home soon. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't leave, something told me we were close to finding the truth and I wanted to be there when it was revealed.

  "If you guys want to watch this you better get in here," Lt. Meadows said.

  I looked at Snake and said, "Be right there."

  We finished our discussion and then entered the observation room. A detective was in the process of interrogating the taller of the two drivers. After being arrested he had been identified as one Ivan Fielding. He was about six feet tall, muscular, blue eyes with dirty blond hair. The detective and the driver sat across from each other at a small table.

  "So, you ever watch the news, Mr. Fielding?" the detective said.

  "Sometimes," Ivan said.

  "You been watching the Winter's murder trial?"

  "Yeah, I saw some of it."

  "Sarah Winters, she was a client of yours wasn't she?"

  The man stared at Detective Marsh but didn't respond.

  "Listen. We talked at length with Veronica and Richard Stein. Plus we've got two other witnesses who can identify you as being part of this baby selling organization. You might as well cooperate. We've already got your ass nailed."

  "I don't know nothing about it. I'm just a driver."

  "I believe you. We're not after you. We're after whoever is the brains of this operation. Just tell us what you know and we'll ask the judge to go easy on you."

  "I want it in writing and I want a member of the DA's staff to sign it," Ivan said.

  "It's nearly midnight for Christ sakes. There's nobody around from the DA's office now. You can trust us."

  "Ha!", Ivan said. "Do I look that stupid? What's the big rush anyway?"

  "Okay, just tell us one thing and then we'll reconvene this session tomorrow with a rep' from the DA's offices present."

  "What's that?"

  "Where did you deliver Sarah Winter's baby after you picked her up that night?"

  Ivan thought for a moment."That's easy. Back to the clinic."

  "Where is the clinic?"

  "You said one question?"

  "I lied. Now where's the frickin’ clinic!"

  "Okay, it's in a little office warehouse building on the south side of town."

  "Who was there when you brought the Winter's baby in?"

  "Michael and some woman."

  "Michael Simpson?"

  "Yes."

  "Who was the woman?" Detective Marsh asked.

  "His girlfriend, I think," Ivan replied.

  "Did he take the baby?"

  "Yes. He took two actually."

  Detective Marsh frowned. "How many babies did you keep there?"

  "We usually had five or six a week."

  "Jesus!" Detective Marsh said. "Did he say where he was taking them?"

  "No."

  "Do you have any idea where he was taking them?"

  "No."

  Detective Marsh gave Ivan a cold stare and abruptly got up and left the room. Lt. Meadows shook his head and looked at Snake and Stan. "What is happening to this country? I've lived in this community all my life and I would have never drea
med people were buying and selling children right under our noses."

  "It's pretty sad," I said.

  "I think I know where Michael Simpson went with at least one of the babies," Snake said.

  Lt. Meadows looked at Snake. "Where?"

  It was a little after midnight when Lt. Meadows, Detective Walsh and someone from the Sheriff's office arrived in front of Malcolm Vector's mobile home on the outskirts of town. It was dark but a full moon provided sufficient light to make out the silhouette of the big doublewide ahead of us. Meadows told us to stay in the car and watch, which didn't upset me in the least. He and the other officer went to the front door as Detective Walsh went around back. Lt. Meadows knocked on the door. A light came on and voices could be heard inside.

  "This is Lt. Meadows of the Sherman Police Department. Please step outside a moment. I'd like to talk to Malcolm Vector."

  The door opened and a tall blond man stepped out wearing a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. He scanned the area and then looked at Lt. Meadows.

  "What do want? It's after midnight."

  "Are you Mr. Vector?" Lt. Meadows asked.

  "Yes, couldn't we do this during regular business hours?"

  "I apologize for the late hour Mr. Vector but we're investigating some missing babies. Do you mind if we come inside and look around?"

  "Do you have a warrant?"

  "No."

  "Then I mind," Malcolm said.

  Lt. Meadows took a deep breath. "Is there anyone here with you tonight?"

  "Just my girlfriend."

  "Has she had a child recently?"

  Malcolm hesitated. "No. It's just her and me.”

  "Have you ever heard of the Church of Satan?"

  Malcolm frowned and shook his head from side to side.

  "Listen. I don't have to take this crap. Come back during the day," Malcolm said and then turned to go back inside. Before he could shut the door, the piercing cry of a baby could be heard from inside. Lt. Meadows pulled his gun and pointed it at the man.

  "Step outside, sir!" he said.

  Malcolm looked at Lt. Meadows and then jumped inside and slammed the door shut. Meadows went to the door and turned the handle to try to get it opened. From inside Malcolm picked up a rifle, pointed it at the glass window of the front door and pulled the trigger. The bullet pierced the glass and hit Lt. Meadows in the shoulder. He fell to the ground grasping his gushing wound and reeling from the pain. Detective Walsh took a shot through the window but missed Malcolm as he had ducked down behind a sofa.

  Snake got on the police radio and called for backup. I got out of the car and ran over to Lt. Meadows to see how badly he had been hurt. He was bleeding profusely so I applied pressure to the wound while I got him up to move him out of the line of fire. A shot rang out and I heard the bullet pass just to my left. We quickened the pace and took refuge behind a riding lawn mower. The Sheriff's deputy ran over and kneeled down next to me.

  "Is he all right?"

  "He's alive," I said. "Cover me while I get him back to the squad car."

  I helped Lt. Meadows up again and we started back toward the car. Snake ran over to help. The sheriff's deputy opened fire on the mobile home. When we had made it to the car, he stopped shooting.

  Inside I could see Malcolm was running around in panic. His Chevy pickup was parked about thirty yards from the door of the trailer. He looked out at the deputy sheriff who had been firing and then picked up a grenade. He pulled the pin then ran to the front door and threw it at him. The grenade exploded instantly killing the deputy and Detective Walsh. Malcolm grabbed his girlfriend's hand and they made a run for the truck. They got in, started the engine and took off kicking up a cloud of dirt and scattering gravel behind them.

  I looked over at the slain lawmen, took a deep breath and grabbed Lt. Meadow's gun. I looked at Snake and said, "Stay here with Meadows, I can't let that asshole get away." Before Snake could protest I ran to the Sheriff deputy's car and took off.

  Malcolm headed out into the country down an old county road. It was paved but poorly maintained. I pressed the accelerator hard trying to catch up with him as he was already a half a mile ahead. As I sped along the bumpy road, I wondered what in the hell I was doing. I hadn't fired a gun since I was a teenager. Even in the Marine Corps I hadn’t made it far enough into training to fire a weapon. Malcolm was obviously a trained soldier and I realized I was no match for him. I looked down at the dashboard of the Sheriff's vehicle. I grabbed the radio microphone and held it to my mouth.

  "Hello, this is Stan Turner. Is anybody there?"

  "Yes, I read you, Mr. Turner. Who the hell are you?"

  "I don't have time to explain. I'm chasing the man who just murdered one of your Sheriff's deputies and a Sherman police officer. I'm traveling south on FM 697. We just passed Choctaw Creek."

  "Do you know who you are chasing?" the dispatcher asked.

   "Malcolm Vector and his girlfriend. They're traveling in a blue late model Chevy pickup."

  "All right, we'll set up a road block at Ida. Just keep the suspect in sight. Don’t try to apprehend him."

  "You got it," I said focusing on the tail lights a hundred yards ahead of him.

  Malcolm came to a fork in the road. First he went left staying on FM 687 but then suddenly he veered to the right. As I went through the intersection I saw why Malcolm had changed his course, the flashing lights of police cars could be seen in the distance on FM 687.

  "Damn it!" I screamed. I couldn't believe they hadn't shut off their lights until Malcolm got close. Fatigue was starting to set in as I tried desperately to keep up with the Chevy. I got on the radio and advised the dispatcher of his new position. I watched the two taillights jumping up and down, twisting and turning as Malcolm navigated the narrow county road. Then Malcolm came to a place where the road descended down into a flood plain. When he hit the crest of the road he suddenly saw four police squad cars blocking both lanes of traffic. Upon hearing his approach they turned on their lights.

  Malcolm hit his brakes and came to a screeching halt two hundred yards from the blockade. He looked at the blazing lights for a second and then made a quick U-turn. As I hit the crest I saw the Chevy coming straight at me. I swerved to the right to avoid him but we collided anyway. My car was knocked into a ditch and Malcolm's Chevy rolled three times and came to a stop upside down in the middle of the roadway. Smoke began pouring out from under the hood. I shook my head trying to clear my vision. I looked over at Malcolm's car and saw him wiggle out and run into the woods. I looked around for the gun. Seeing it on the floor I picked it up and tried to get out of the car. The door was stuck so I had to roll down the window and slide through it.

  After I was back on my feet, I looked back at the police cars rapidly approaching and decided to let them chase Malcolm. Then I remembered Malcolm’s girlfriend. Where was she? Suddenly Malcolm’s truck caught on fire. I ran up as close to it as I dared to see if she was still inside. Her arm was dangling out the window. I knew unless I pulled her out she’d die when the truck exploded.

  I ran over, opened the door and felt for a pulse. She was alive so I pushed her forward and then grabbed her from behind and pulled her out of the truck. Then I carried her into the drainage ditch where she’d be sheltered if the car exploded.

  When I turned back toward the truck, Malcolm was there pointing his rifle at me. Instinctively I dropped to the ground. I felt the trail of a bullet fly over my head. Malcolm darted to the left to get a better shot but I rolled down into the ditch next to his girlfriend.

  I checked my gun, took a deep breath and then waited for Malcolm to move. If he came at me, I’d kill him. The police cars came to a stop a hundred yards away. Malcolm turned and started to run into the woods. I heard an officer yell, “Halt!” but Malcolm continued to run. There was gun fire and then silence. I dropped my gun and then the lights went out.

  When I opened my eyes again, Rebekah was sitting next to me reading a book. I looked around the ho
spital room trying to remember how I had gotten there. Rebekah smiled when she saw my eyes opened. She put down her book and came over and sat on the edge of my bed.

  "How do you feel, honey?" she said.

  "Groggy. What did they give me?"

  "Pain medication. You were hurting pretty bad after your accident. The doctor says you dislocated your shoulder and cracked a few ribs, not to mention the concussion."

  I closed my eyes and winced in pain. "I'm glad I didn't become a cop. Last night was not much fun."

  "I bet. I've been so worried about you."

  The door opened and Reggie and Mark walked in.

  "Daddy, you're awake," Mark said. "Are you okay?"

  "Yeah, I think I'll live."

  "Dad, I can't believe you chased down that Devil worshiper. That is so cool," Reggie said.

  I frowned as the memory of the previous night came rushing back to me. "How did you know he was a devil worshiper?" I asked.

  "Dad, it's been on TV all day," he said.

  "That's right," Rebekah said. "After you chased Vector down and saved his girlfriend, the police killed him. Then they went back to his place and found an old bomb shelter that had been built back in the sixties. He had converted it into a Satanic Church. Apparently they started out sacrificing animals and birds as part of their rituals and ceremonies but Malcolm wanted something better. He wanted human sacrifices. He recruited some girls to be breeders but they couldn’t produce babies quick enough to suit him. That's where Michael Simpson came in."

  "Was Simpson supplying Malcolm exclusively?"

  "No, he would sell to the highest bidder," Rebekah said.

  "Huh, so is Lt. Meadows okay?"

  "Yes, he's down the hall. He's going to be fine."

  "What about Walsh and the Deputy?"

  Rebekah closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "They're dead."

  I shook my head. "I figured. What about the baby?"

  "The baby's fine," Rebekah said. "She’s down in the nursery. We saw her a few minutes ago."

  "Is it Sarah's baby?"

  "No, it was a newborn."

  "Oh, I never saw it actually," I said. "I can't believe Simpson was buying and selling children like they were cattle."

  "I wish they’d of killed him too," Rebekah said." Someone like that deserves to die."

  "He will, it'll just take ten or fifteen years and a couple million dollars of the taxpayer's money to get it accomplished."

  "That is so ridiculous."

  "I know," I said. "Did Snake say when the test results will be back on the burnt baby?"

  "They're supposed to be done this afternoon."

  I nodded. "Good, Sarah needs to know one way or the other."

  "Yeah, I guess you didn't hear."

  "What?"

  "Snake said Sarah told him if they found her baby she wanted to keep it."

  “How does Greg feel about that?”

  “He made it clear he wouldn’t bring up someone else’s child.”

  "Really, that's too bad. Sarah needs somebody.”

  “She’ll have her baby.”

  "So this nightmare's almost over."

  Rebekah smiled. "That's right and now we're taking a vacation."

  I laughed. "You won't get any argument from me."

  It was after four when Snake came by my room. Rebekah was sitting in a chair watching TV. I was reading a magazine Rebekah had brought me. He was carrying a manila file in one hand and some flowers in the other.

  "Flowers?" I said.

  Snake frowned. "They're not from me. The girls from the Majestic Mansion sent them. I promised I'd deliver them."

  "What's the Majestic Mansion?" Rebekah asked.

  "Oh," I said. "Ah. . . . It's a little restaurant that Harry enjoys a lot."

  "Why are they sending you flowers?" she asked.

  "I don't know. Ask Harry," I said.

  "What?"

  "Ask Harry. They're his friends."

  Rebekah looked at Snake. He laughed. "Well, they really admire what Stan's been doing for Sarah and . . . they realize how difficult this trial has been on you so they sent these for you."

  Rebekah’s eyes lit up. "These are for me?"

  "Yeah, you don't think a guy would appreciate flowers, do you?"

  Rebekah took the flowers from Snake. "Oh, that is so nice. You'll have to take me to dinner there some night so I can thank them."

  "Not anytime soon," I said grinning at Snake.

  Rebekah frowned. “Why not?”

  I shrugged. “We’re going on vacation.”

  “Oh, right.”

  "So, did you get the report, Snake?" Rebekah asked.

  "Yes, it's negative. The burnt baby was not Sarah's twin,"

  "Oh, thank God," Rebekah said."Have you told Sarah?"

  "Yes, I called her as soon as I knew."

  "So, now what?" I said. "Have the police found Simpson?"

  "No, apparently he left town when his name kept coming up at the trial."

  "That figures," I said. "Now there's no way to find the adoptive parents."

  "They have to get birth certificates, right?" Snake said.

  "Yeah, that's right. I wonder how they do that?"

  "I don't know, but if we can figure it out that might be the way to find the adoptive parents."

  I pondered the question a moment and then said, "I doubt they'd chance a formal legal proceeding. That'd be too risky."

  "Right, I bet they just get a fake birth certificate, Snake said. "Rarely does anyone verify a birth certificate anyway."

  "If I were paying twenty-five thousand dollars for a child, I'm not sure I'd be satisfied with a fake birth certificate. I wouldn't want to have to worry about someone finding out that there was no legitimate adoption."

  "True, maybe he paid somebody at vital records to slip in a few bogus birth certificates."

  "Maybe we should go talk to somebody over there. It couldn't hurt," I said.

  "Hey, our client's off the hook. Our job is done. Let the police find Sarah's baby," Snake said.

  "Yeah, I guess you're right. Besides, I've promised Rebekah a vacation."

  Rebekah gave me a disgusted look. "I know you, Stan. We'll be cruising the Caribbean and you'll be two thousand miles away wondering where Sarah's baby is. I'll give you a couple days to find her. That will give me time to plan the trip."

  I smiled. "Did I ever tell you how much I love you?"

  "You used to before you got too busy for me," Rebekah said.

  I held out my hands and said, “Come here. I'm not too busy for you right now."

  Snake started to back up toward the door. "Listen. I’ve got to run. I'll see you two love birds later."

  Rebekah laughed."Bye, Harry."

  Snake opened the door to leave as we began kissing passionately. He smiled, closed the door and left.