“I came home planning to nap and then go back to the hospital and see if anything has changed. I didn’t mean to interrupt your discussion.” Carly nodded to the blueprints on the table.
“Don’t be silly; you’re not an interruption. We were just talking about the addition I want. You know I’d like to have a room available for troubled kids or people needing temporary shelter. Jack has some ideas to help preserve my privacy.”
Jack pointed to the plans and showed Carly his idea.
“I agree with Jack,” Carly said. “Adding that wall will give you and any houseguest a greater measure of privacy. Just remember, I want to be able to talk to whoever comes to stay here. And you have to promise—” Carly put her hands on her hips for emphasis—“if I don’t approve, it’s a no-go.”
Jack signed something to Kay.
“Jack says you’re being overprotective,” Kay explained with a smile. “But I know your frame of reference, so don’t worry; you get approval rights before anyone moves in.”
“Thanks.” Carly yawned and rubbed her eyes. She really didn’t like her mother’s plan to be a foster mom but knew arguing would get her nowhere. Carly’s father had died five years before, and she was glad that Kay was far from being a helpless widow. She was taking foster-parenting classes through the county, and she counseled troubled teens at church. Kay’s idea of becoming a foster mom had a lot of support from the church—especially from Jack, who was a deacon. Carly still thought the plan was crazy. The concept of a stranger sharing her mother’s house bothered her. She squelched her protest in favor of bringing the focus back to Joe’s problem.
“Don’t forget to put Christy on the prayer chain.” Carly grabbed a chair and pulled it under the umbrella’s shade.
“I’ll get the word out. Is Nick involved?”
“He doesn’t know yet. I called and got his voice mail. If he doesn’t call soon, I’ll call him again.” She accepted the glass of tea Kay handed her. “Have you talked to him lately, Mom?”
“Not for a couple of weeks. He seems to be having a difficult time with his rehabilitation.” Her mother settled back into her seat and sipped her own tea.
“That’s an understatement. What’s wrong with him? He’s the one always saying God will work things out. He doesn’t seem to believe that about his hip. I can’t talk to him anymore.” She took a sip and then held the glass to her forehead. The cool liquid was soothing inside and out.
Jack tapped on the table to get Kay’s attention and began to sign furiously.
Carly watched as the two conversed. “What’s he saying?”
“He says Nick needs time. He might never walk normally again, and he can’t accept the prospect of being handicapped. He’s afraid to get close to you again, afraid you’ll reject him if he’s handicapped.”
“Has Nick told Jack that?” Carly felt her face flush hotter than it already was from the weather. First Joe with his theory about Nick. And now Jack was telling her the same thing—that Nick was basically having a panic attack and taking it out on her. If he really believed she’d abandon him, what did that say about how shallow he thought she was?
There was more signing before Kay continued. “He didn’t have to say anything. Jack knows the feeling. When he was seventeen, a girlfriend broke his heart, saying she couldn’t live with his disability. He knows what Nick is going through and thinks that right now he feels like less of a man. Jack is sure we just need to be patient and let Nick work things out; he’ll come around.”
“This is silly! Nick should know that it wouldn’t matter to me if he never walks right again. I mean, I’d be sad for him, but it wouldn’t change my feelings.”
“Let him process; let him adjust.”
Carly thought for a moment before voicing the question that pierced her. She had, after all, trusted Nick with her heart—again. He’d crushed it once. Was she setting herself up for another fall? “What if he doesn’t?”
Jack answered her with one definitive gesture, which Kay translated.
“He will.”
• • •
The cooling tea and comfort of sitting in her mother’s backyard relaxed Carly to the point where she began to nod off. She said her good-byes and headed the two blocks home.
Andrea’s space was empty, so Carly assumed she was at work. At least I won’t have to dodge any showering men today. Carly yawned as she walked through the courtyard and waved to Mrs. Shane, the across-the-courtyard neighbor. A widow who’d moved in about three months ago, she liked to sit outside her door in a rocking chair. Carly could count on her being there whenever she got back from work late. Mrs. Shane would go inside for lunch and then be back for a couple of hours in the afternoon. Occasionally she’d stop Carly and ask about her day. Andrea thought the woman was nosy and avoided her. But Carly figured she was just lonely.
Any other day Carly might have struck up a conversation. But today she opened her front door, stepped inside, closed it, and leaned against it, sighing and shaking her head. I hate having this problem hanging in the air between Andi and me. It made her glad for the distraction her dog provided. Maddie was at the door, tail wagging and tongue hanging out.
“Ohh, sweetie, I’m glad to see you too.” She dropped her equipment bag and fell to her knees to hug the dog. When she got up, she checked the communication chalkboard she and Andi kept on the fridge. Andi had marked “fed” and “walked” for Maddie on the day’s date.
Blowing out a breath, she put her hands on her hips and looked at the dog. “I’m too tired right now, but I promise a good walk later, when it’s cooler.”
Maddie just kept wagging and followed Carly into the bedroom.
Once in her room, she got ready for bed and, in spite of the drama and turmoil of the morning, fell right to sleep. She slept soundly for about five hours and woke up bathed in sweat. The ceiling fan was ineffective; it was really only pushing around hot air. The apartment did not have AC.
“Bet you’re twice as hot as I am.” Carly reached down and patted Maddie, who was panting at the end of the bed. It was really a heat wave when it got this bad on the coast. Her apartment was only a block and a half from the beach, and generally there was a cooling ocean breeze. Not today.
She got up, let the dog out on the patio, then took an invigorating cold shower, which helped a little. Two things nagged her mind as she dressed in light shorts and a T-shirt. First, she wondered about Christy and how she was doing. She double-checked her phone, but there was no new message from Joe. Second, Carly thought about Andi. By now, her roommate was halfway through her shift. And it kept bugging Carly that they hadn’t talked things out after the tiff about the man in the shower. Normally, Andi didn’t stay mad long. But this disagreement about overnight guests was the most serious one they’d ever had.
She pondered the situation as she fixed herself a tuna sandwich. After eating it without really tasting it, she decided to take a stab and call the hospital to talk to Andrea.
Her shift schedule was on the fridge. When Carly checked it, she saw that Andi would be covering in pediatrics, so a call to Andi would probably kill two birds with one stone. It would be easy for her roommate to find out what was up with Christy even from pediatrics. Hopefully Andrea is over her huff and can give me an update without disturbing Joe.
Carly punched in the number for pediatrics. The phone rang several times before someone picked it up.
“Hi, can I speak to Andrea, please?”
“Who’s speaking?” The voice was impatient, and it wasn’t anyone Carly recognized.
“This is her roommate.”
“She’s busy right now. Can I take a message?”
“No, no message.”
The phone clicked before Carly could say anything else. That’s weird. She sent Andi a text message, using their code for emergency callback, and waited. Fifteen minutes passed, but the phone didn’t ring. Carly paced the small living room and decided that Andrea was pouting. This was irritating. She kne
w now they needed to sit down and have an uninterrupted conversation about the friction between them. The overnight guest situation had been a sore spot for her for a long time, but Carly had suffered in silence.
I guess because I brought it up, I’m going to have to initiate a peace talk. Too bad it had to all come to a head this weekend. Giving up on Andrea, she hit the speed dial to call up her partner’s number.
“As much as I don’t want to bug you, I want to know what’s going on,” she muttered while she typed her text message. This time she was rewarded with a callback.
“How are things going?” she asked, hoping the response would be positive.
“Carly.” Joe choked her name out.
Carly felt her stomach cramp. Christy must be worse. “Yeah, how’s Christy?”
“Christy’s doing better. She’s, uh, actually stable now.”
Then why do you sound so strange? “Okay, what’s the matter, then?”
“Oh, Carly,” he sobbed over the phone as his thin layer of composure broke. “Someone’s taken A.J. Someone stole my son.”
6
SOMEONE STOLE A.J.
As many times as Carly repeated the words, they still didn’t make sense. Officers were all over the hospital this morning. How could someone kidnap a baby? And why?
She sped to the hospital and prayed that when she arrived, Joe would tell her it was a terrible mistake and A.J. was safe and sound. But the obvious media presence in the parking lot killed all optimism. To avoid the media, Carly parked on a side street and entered the hospital through the emergency room. In spite of the heat, she shivered when she remembered Joe’s voice on the phone. In almost eleven years on the force, Carly could not recall a single kidnapping in her city. And she wondered, What do you say to someone whose son was just kidnapped?
Four uniformed officers hovered around the emergency admitting desk. One of them saw her and hailed.
“Hey, Carly, what’s the deal with your partner’s wife? Why were she and the kid here in the first place?” Tina asked.
“Don’t know. Earlier this morning the doctors couldn’t say.” Carly sighed. “Have you guys heard any more?”
Tina shook her head. “No, no one is saying much. But they’re giving out overtime like candy for guys to watch the entrances and talk to potential witnesses.”
“Witnesses?” Hope sprang into Carly’s chest. “Did someone see A.J. being taken?”
“We’ve heard rumors someone saw a volunteer leave with a baby earlier, but nothing is confirmed. They don’t want false information going out, so we probably won’t hear anything official until all their ducks are in a row. You know how it goes.” Tina shrugged.
“Lieutenant Jacobs is planning a press briefing soon,” one of the guys added. “Our orders are to watch people leaving. Initially, the hope was that the baby was still inside the hospital. But I think now they know the kid is gone.”
“How long ago did they discover the baby was missing?”
“We’ve been watching this entrance for an hour. If Joe called 911 right away, the baby’s been gone about an hour and twenty minutes to two hours.”
“Thanks for the information. I pray we find A.J. soon.”
They all nodded in agreement, and Carly continued into the hospital. Over an hour, maybe two. A.J. could be halfway to Santa Barbara by now. A shroud of dread and fear enveloped her as the reality of the kidnapping sank in. She stopped at the elevator to gather her thoughts. I need to encourage Joe, support him, not scare him.
The elevator doors opened, and Lieutenant Jacobs and Sergeant Nelson stepped off.
“Hey, I’m glad to see you two.” Carly greeted the men and felt her gut unclench slightly. She wanted an update from Jake before the press conference. And the lieutenant wouldn’t miss a thing.
“Hey yourself, Trouble.” Jacobs smiled, but his eyes told her he was intense and focused. Ever since the murder of Las Playas’s last mayor, when for a time there was an all-points bulletin out on Carly, Jacobs had called her Trouble. She rolled her eyes at the nickname and fell into step with the lieutenant.
“I wondered where you were,” he said. “I know you and Joe are close.”
They stopped at an open waiting room that had obviously been turned into a temporary command post. A tactical unit was poring over diagrams of the hospital, and Soto, the public information officer, was on the phone. From the sound of it, he was giving a statement to a news radio station. Nelson sat down to use the phone. He was the new sergeant in charge of homicide, and homicide handled all kidnappings.
“When I went home to sleep, it was only Christy we were worried about, and Joe’s parents had just arrived. What happened?” Carly asked.
“I wish I knew. We just don’t have much.” Jake rubbed tired eyes. “There were cops all over this hospital. Guys were stopping by all morning, checking up on Joe and Christy. The best we can tell is, between one and two hours ago, someone walked into the nursery, picked up A.J., put a doll in his place, and walked away.”
“We’re not sure about the time?”
“Yes and no. One or two of the parents who were upstairs with newborns remember a volunteer walking around. We’re looking hard at this because there aren’t any volunteers assigned to that floor right now. Problem is, about the same time the baby disappeared, one of the sick babies began having problems and most of the staff were involved with that infant. The other parents who were up there with sick children can’t tell us much because they were concerned about their own problems.”
“But Andrea brags about all the cameras in this place. Security here is tops; surely they picked something up?” Carly feared she sounded hysterical; she swallowed, working to calm down.
“Pete Harris is the assigned investigator. He’s reviewing security discs as we speak. Everyone who was on duty in pediatrics was talked to, or will be talked to, and no one saw anything or anyone unusual that is any help . . . so far. I’ve got officers interviewing everyone who was in the hospital at the time of occurrence. The FBI is sending a couple of agents to help. We’ll chase down every lead. I promised Joe our best.”
He paused and took a deep breath. “You know what the worst part of this is?”
Carly shook her head.
“Joe was on his way to get A.J. and take him home. He found the stupid doll.”
Nelson pulled Jacobs away to deal with something on the phone. Carly left them to their work and went back to the elevator. As she stepped on board, her thoughts went to Andrea. She was working pediatrics; chances were good she’d be in the thick of this investigation. When her phone buzzed with a text message, she looked down and saw it was from Nick. Nick! She hit her forehead with her hand. I forgot to call him back. He probably heard the news from the TV. Oh well, she thought. He will have to wait until after I talk to Joe.
Between the hospital’s own security and the LPPD, every floor at Memorial was shut up tight. She hated to think it, but it was typical: the barn door securely shut after the horse had escaped. Most of the guards recognized Carly, but a couple of new guys asked to see her badge. When she reached critical care, she found Joe in a quiet module holding Christy’s hand. His beard was darker, and black half circles weighed down his bloodshot eyes. He stood to give Carly a hug and held on tight.
“How’s she doing now?” Carly asked in a whisper, looking down at the still-pale form. Joe’s parents, seated on the other side of the bed, nodded silently to her.
“She’s stable at least. They still don’t know what’s wrong with her, but she’s not getting worse. She isn’t conscious, but I’m almost afraid that’s better. I couldn’t tell her that A.J. . . .” His voice broke.
“Hang in there, Joe. We’ll find him. People don’t get away with taking babies from hospitals; you know that.” Carly hugged his sagging shoulders.
He sniffed back his tears. “I know what I want to believe: that this is a long, involved nightmare I’m in, and I’ll wake up any minute now. I can’t—I never woul
d have thought that something so horrible could happen to my family.”
“My mom has a lot of people praying for you, Joe.”
“Thanks . . . thanks.”
His mom, a small woman with a scarf covering her head, came over and took Joe’s hand. They talked a little about Christy and what the doctors had ruled out. One of the nurses padded softly into the module and said apologetically that there were really too many people in the room. The gentle shove made Carly tell Joe she’d be close if he needed anything. She left to locate Andrea and find out from her how the investigation was going on the hospital’s side.
Glancing back as she left, Carly saw Joe with his mother, huddled close to the pale Christy. Her BlackBerry buzzed again, and this time Nick used 911—the call-back-right-away signal.
Well, I’ve put it off as long as I can, she thought. Still, she decided to make the call from Andrea’s floor and rode the elevator one level down. Cell phone use was discouraged in the hospital, so she found a free phone at the nurses’ station and punched in his number.
“It’s about time!” Nick was livid. “Were you ever going to call and tell me what was going on with Joe?”
As if his rage traveled through the phone lines and infused Carly, she felt her face flush with indignation. How dare he!
“What is that supposed to mean? Since when am I supposed to check in with you? I called you earlier, and it went to voice mail. I was tired. I went home and fell asleep.”
“Five minutes! That’s all a phone call would have taken you—five minutes. Is that too much to ask?” Nick sounded uncharacteristically harsh. Carly couldn’t recall him ever talking to her that way. She took a deep breath and bit back the sarcastic retort on her tongue. I don’t want to hurt you, Nick. Even though everyone kept telling her she wasn’t the problem, she bristled at being his chosen target. Her pastor’s Sunday message came to mind: “Angry words pierce and the holes can’t be patched.”
“Nick, I’m sorry, okay? I meant to call you again and forgot. I was tired. I really can’t tell you much more than what you’ve already seen on the news.”
Abducted Page 4
